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Encyclopedia of Eternia: History

After three years in the making, it's finally here- I'm happy to present to the MOTU community my biggest work of fanfiction ever- The Encylopedia of Eternia. Here I present my own vision of the entire MOTU saga from beginning to end, starting with the history and to be followed by character and universe profiles. Thanks to everyone who has supported me in my time writing this, and to General Stingrad, whose own work was a strong influence on mine. Read on, and feel free to post feedback...

Encyclopedia of Eternia

SECTION 1: HISTORY

Chapter 1: The First Civilizations of Eternia

The battle between good and evil is almost as old as the universe itself. As soon as the prime consciousness of the universe created matter, the presence of matter evoked the essence of otherness. Out of otherness was born fear, and out of fear was born the battle for domination. Out of the battle for domination was born the notions of right and wrong. And thus began the timeless conflict between good and evil.

As evolution spread throughout the planet that would come to be known as Eternia, intelligent life developed, and human civilization was born. In the early days of humanity, Eternia was populated by tribes. Numerous groups of different peoples and races were established throughout Eternia, each carrying their own myths, fables and legends, each worshipping their own Gods and Goddesses. Many of the tribes were nomadic, and traveled from area to area, spreading over the whole planet. Other tribes chose to settle permanently in single areas, and the first villages and settlements were built.

The oldest Eternian legend of the battles between Good and Evil is that of The Goddess, and her enemy, the great God Serpos. The Goddess was a beautiful, green-skinned woman, her torso covered by red cobra armor, carrying a staff in the shape of a cobra. She represented tranquility between humanity and nature, the balance between the humans, the animals, and the environment. She was the ultimate symbol of peace and unity. Her enemy, Serpos, manifested in the form of a demonic, three-headed snake, his sharp fangs dripping with blood. Serpos represented everything that was vile and savage about the spirit. He was the essence of hatred, destruction, greed and debauchery, the mindless savagery that struggled to overcome the sanctity of nature. Although Serpos possessed incredible power, and was easily capable of seducing ordinary humans into his evil ways, the Goddess had the greater power, for she had the forces of love and harmony within her being. Thus, no matter how severe the evil acts of Serpos, the love of the Goddess would always overcome him. While many Gods and Goddesses were worshipped by the tribes of Prehistoric Eternia, The Goddess herself was the definitive deity, the most powerful and most highly worshipped of all deities of the universe.

After several centuries of evolution, a group of traveling thinkers from a multitude of different tribes congregated together with the intention of developing a full and clear understanding of the world around them and beyond. By eliminating the essence of otherness from their perception, and viewing the universe as a single entity, they believed they could eradicate altogether the temptation of fear, and thus the desire for war and conflict, enabling the universe to live in ultimate harmony. Such an understanding of Nature and the Gods would enable them to stabilize a permanent balance within their world, and possibly even spread this balance throughout the entire universe.

Together, within their base, a small wooden hut atop a rocky precipice, they established themselves as The Council of the Wise, and began their great metaphysical exploration of their world, which they named Eternia, meaning ‘world that will last for eternity’. The Council of the Wise was comprised of many great magicians, sorceresses, philosophers, scientists and astronomers, who had all spent many years practising their arts in order to enhance their understanding of nature. The magicians, sorcerers and sorceresses developed the skills of magic to control the forces of nature for its own good, and to see into realms beyond their immediate surroundings. The scientists, meanwhile, focused their studies on the material world, to develop a full understanding of the essence of matter. The astronomers fixed their focus on the skies above, and studied the stars to understand that which lay beyond the world they inhabited. The philosophers took into account the discoveries of all the others, and developed great wisdom about the workings of the universe, through their analysis of the Council’s findings. The studies of the Council led them to conclude that magic and science should work in harmony to ensure the balance of nature, and the sanctity of all living creatures.

Following their discoveries, the humble dwelling of the Council’s wooden hut was to become the center of all great knowledge and power within Eternia. The Council embarked on a mission to spread the word of their findings throughout the whole of the planet. Individual members of the Council would travel throughout Eternia, utilizing their incredible power, and spreading their philosophy of peace and the workings of nature throughout all the many tribes that populated the planet. The wise Elders soon became the most respected people on the planet, but insisted that despite their power and knowledge they must be regarded as ordinary people like the rest- superiority was a mere illusion, and the essence of nature lay in equality and harmony between all living beings- no matter how weak or powerful they may initially seem, all beings were equally blessed with the power of universal divinity.

Eternia soon became a world of great peace and harmony. Men and women, different races, magic and science, humans and animals, all lived in balance. Amongst the majority of the tribes, there was no such thing as prejudice or discrimination. Everybody respected one another, and wars and conflict were infrequent.

However, there were threats to the balance of nature, and these threats eventually began to grow in severity. There were some tribes and sorcerers on Eternia who refused to accept the philosophy of the Council of the Wise, and refuted the notion that all living beings were created equally. In their mind, living in the material world necessitated the need for hierarchy in order to ensure the survival of the fittest in the struggle for power. These groups dedicated their worship to the Gods and Goddesses of darkness, those who advocated brute force in the quest for survival. Together, the dark tribes of Eternia gathered into a single traveling community dedicated to overcoming the widespread beliefs of The Council of the Wise. As they relished the night as their time of action, and took shelter during the daylight hours, they became known as The Nocturnals.

The leader of the Nocturnals was a strange being known as Lord Masque. His origins were unknown, but he seemed to be more of a dark shadow than a man, his metaphysical form concentrated within a shell of armor, his conscience concentrated into physical form by the metal mask which covered the cowl serving as his head. Legend has it that Lord Masque was himself a spirit of evil, banished from the physical realms by the Goddess centuries ago, who had somehow managed to achieve a return to the physical realm by concentrating his power into this mysterious mask. Lord Masque worshipped the Goddess Shokoti, to whom he referred as his ‘Mistress’. Shokoti was the Goddess of Destruction, her semi-reptilian form leading some tribes to believe she was an offspring of the God Serpos. Lord Masque’s exact connection to Shokoti was unknown, but his referral to her as ‘Mistress’ evoked the belief in many that he was a former servant or possibly apprentice of the great Shokoti.

On the deepest reaches of the Sands of Time, Eternia’s widest stretch of desert, Lord Masque erected a huge, solid stone temple as a monument to Shokoti. The temple was constructed with the desire to bring forth the goddess Shokoti to the physical realm of Eternia to bring about the destruction of the system of harmony, and The Council of the Wise themselves.

A great ritual was held on the Sands of Time to call forth Shokoti. The Nocturnals gathered together, utilizing their magic to summon forth the great Goddess of Destruction. Within the temple, Shokoti finally manifested, in her traditional form of a blue-skinned, half-reptilian woman with long, flowing black hair. With Lord Masque as her prime messenger, Shokoti set about making her presence known throughout Eternia, by working her evil magic across the planet, spreading darkness and fear throughout the world. By utilizing the power of fear, she evoked numerous tribes across Eternia to succumb to her will and pledge their loyalty. She thus became known as The Living Darkness.

As more and more of Eternia’s peaceful tribes were consumed by Shokoti’s corruption and hierarchy, the Council of the Wise, concerned by this increasing threat to Eternia’s sanctity, elected their strongest warrior, the philosopher Zodac, to restore the balance of Eternia. Zodac was a man of incredible strength and power, and he used his great abilities to traverse across Eternia, defending tribes and settlements from the onslaught of Shokoti, Lord Masque and The Nocturnals. He quickly realized through his battles that the power of Shokoti was the power of fear. The tribes of Eternia were succumbing to Shokoti because of one major element- they feared her, and were thus led into following her regardless of whether or not they agreed with what she stood for. Zodac, therefore, encouraged the tribes of Eternia to act in spite of their fear, and rebel against Shokoti’s evil regardless of the possible consequences. The tribes began to follow Zodac’s orders, confronting their fears and rising up against Shokoti and the Nocturnals, with their magic and strength. They were able to disarm Shokoti and her forces by showing no fear, and as more and more tribes rebelled against her, Zodac and the Council were able to use their powers to seal Shokoti within her temple permanently. The temple was then sunk into the ground, and Lord Masque was also overpowered by the Council’s magic, imprisoned in a hidden cell on the Sands of Time.

Following the defeat of Shokoti, many ordinary Eternians increased their faith in the Council of the Wise, and began to flock to their wooden hut to pledge their loyalty, confess their crimes and achieve redemption. Zodac was hailed throughout Eternia as a great being of divinity. For several decades, the evil forces of Eternia caused no major harm to the planet’s tranquility. The war with Shokoti had positively expanded the consciousness of the Eternians to a large extent- for they now understood the power of fear, and how it was necessary to travel through the dark side to fully embrace the light.

But although Shokoti and Lord Masque had been defeated, The Nocturnals as a group were still very much intact, and escaped justice at the hands of the Council, fleeing to a remote, uninhabited continent on Eternia’s Western side. Concentrating their powers of darkness together, they called forth the spirits of darkness to congregate on this single continent, forming a mass of black clouds which completely blocked out the sun. The barren continent was plunged into eternal darkness, and became known as the Black Continent.

Through their contact with the spirits of evil, The Nocturnals were provided with the ability to travel beyond the world of Eternia, through the emergence of a gateway to another galaxy- a galaxy which revolved around a small sun with the dimmest light. The worlds of this galaxy were dark, cold and deadly. On one of these worlds, populated by ferocious demons and repulsive deadly species, members of The Nocturnals began to develop a civilization of their own. In unison with the spirits of evil, they spread their magic across the planet and turned this world into an exact polar opposite of Eternia, where peace and tranquility were nonexistent, and fear and destruction reigned supreme. They named this planet Infinita. The power that The Nocturnals gained from Infinita proved a strong advantage for them- for they were now able to concentrate their energy towards unleashing the most dreaded demonic entity of all. This entity was none other than the legendary God Serpos.

Approximately a year after the defeat of Shokoti, one member of the Council of the Wise sensed a ripple in Eternia’s dimensional barrier, and traced it to the Black Continent. Zodac led the astronomers of the council into the stars, to traverse the galaxies and locate the source of the dimensional rift. They tracked it down to the newly established world of Infinita, and from above, observed the actions of the Nocturnals who had inhabited this planet.

They brought back tales to the Council of how this galaxy was festering with dark energy, and Infinita, located on the edge of this dark and cold solar system, was populated by thousands of evil beings whose way of life totally contrasted with that of the Eternians. The planet was ruled by monstrous demons which infiltrated the entire world with war, poverty and destruction. Every day on Infinita was a struggle to survive- and given the constant wars which engulfed the planet, this was an incredibly difficult task. Zodac sensed that the great evil within the whole of Infinita’s galaxy was in some way centered around a great force of darkness present on an extremely large planet in the center of the galaxy. But this great power, whatever it was, was blocking even his own powers from exploring the planet.

Eventually, in an enormous, epic fusion of the Nocturnals’ power of darkness, a dimensional portal opened in the skies above the Black Continent, and out flew Serpos, the dreaded Snake God. The legendary deity of corruption, hatred and destruction was now present on Eternia, carrying with it an enormous threat to the planet’s tranquility.

With his gigantic and terrifying form, Serpos proved a far more intimidating and deadly threat to Eternia than Shokoti ever had. He was so powerful that even Zodac could not hope to defeat him alone. The Council of the Wise worked together on combining their power and wisdom into one strong force of peace and harmony to counter Serpos’ evil and destruction.

For the first time in history, full-scale war raged across Eternia. While several tribes succumbed to the influence of Serpos, lured by the power of fear, other peaceful races were forced to enter war in order to save themselves from the fate of destruction or corruption. The Nocturnals were a strong force and wreaked havoc all over Eternia, hoping to merge the planet with Infinita. Numerous races of fearsome demons from around Eternia joined the war, and the evil of Serpos allowed evil to breed across the planet. More and more fierce demonic races began to evolve across Eternia.

The Council of the Wise sent a call across Eternia, for all the most powerful magicians of the planet to join them in their fight against Serpos. Their call was answered by many great sorcerers and sorceresses from all round Eternia. Together, they utilized their powers in battle against Serpos and the Nocturnals, but the powers of Serpos were extreme, and destruction continued to rage across Eternia. So the Council of the Wise held a sacred ritual in their hut together with the sorcerers, combining their powers, concentrating on unifying the forces of light to counter Serpos’ evil. As they unified their magic powers, a great field of rainbow-colored light formed in the air above them. A voice emitted from this field of light, and explained that it was a metaphysical entity representing the essence of light, which served to evoke hope in the minds of the living. It was therefore known as Light Hope.

Light Hope told the Council that in order to fully counter the evil of Serpos, they must summon The Goddess, the great deity who had kept Serpos at bay according to legend. The key to summoning The Goddess, he explained, was to utilize the powers of a magical forest on one of Eternia’s neighbouring planets. This planet, said Light Hope, was a peaceful world populated, like Eternia, by tribes. Although its natives had not yet gained the power and knowledge of the Eternians, their world was a tranquil place covered mostly by grassland and vegetation, in which humans lived in perfect balance with animals and plant life. The essence of harmony with nature was concentrated at its strongest in a forest known as the Whispering Woods, so called because the trees there were said to hold the great knowledge of nature, which was spread in their whispers amidst the breeze. The essence of harmony within the Whispering Woods was so strong that no evil force could penetrate its barriers. Since The Goddess was an embodiment of harmony between humans, animals and nature, her presence was prevalent throughout the Whispering Woods, and the powers of this place would enable the Council to summon her.

Following Light Hope’s orders, Zodac led the Council of the Wise to this neighboring planet, as yet unnamed. Reaching the Whispering Woods, they harnessed its powers of natural tranquility to bring forth the almighty deity worshipped for centuries by the tribes of Eternia- The Goddess. The Goddess appeared just as the legends described her, as a green-skinned woman with red cobra armor and a staff in the shape of a cobra. The Goddess joined the Council upon their return to Eternia, to do battle with her old enemy, Serpos.

The Goddess and Zodac led the Council of the Wise, and the accompanying magicians, into battle with Serpos and his minions. After a long and hard struggle, the forces of good were able to use their combined powers to overcome Serpos as they engaged in battle on the Black Continent. Serpos was stunned and rendered helpless by their radiant forces of light and justice. As Serpos hung paralyzed in mid-air, The Goddess, the Council, and the sorcerers used their powers to imprison him in a solid mountain structure in the center of the Black Continent. Serpos was trapped, and unable to escape. The forces of good now stood before the army of the Nocturnals, with Light Hope shining above them. Together with the tribes of Eternia, now free from the influence of Serpos, they rushed towards them in battle. The Nocturnals panicked, realizing they stood no chance of victory, and were immediately scattered by the forces of good. Many of them were taken prisoner in the battle; others fled, some to Infinita, some to other dimensions, and some to other areas of Eternia, weak and drained of power. Others chose the option of suicide as their escape from the forces of light, while others were redeemed and defected from the side of darkness. Finally, the group of evildoers that was the Nocturnals was no more. The power of good shone throughout the whole of Eternia.

With Serpos imprisoned, and the Nocturnals finally defeated, peace reigned over Eternia once more. Through their countless centuries of studying the universe, practising their magic and science and fighting for peace, the Council of the Wise had become the most powerful beings in the universe. They had all the secrets, power and knowledge to become Masters of the Universe. But they knew that this power was in safe hands, and while they possessed it, it would never be abused. The Goddess stated that the time had come for the Council to spread their wisdom throughout the universe in order to keep the forces of balance and harmony universally intact. Most members of the Council were now more or less immortal- almost more like Gods than regular humans. So the Council of the Wise became the Cosmic Enforcers, and together, they all left Eternia to travel throughout the universe, watching over the entire cosmos to sustain its balance. As he had been Eternia’s prime savior in its years of battle, Zodac was given the role of watching over Eternia.

As the Cosmic Enforcers left for the stars, the remaining sorcerers and sorceresses who had worked with them stayed on Eternia, and became the Council of Elders. The Goddess told them that with their incredible knowledge and power, they should use their magic to form a larger and more complex base than the simple wooden hut they had occupied for many years. A base that would house the secrets and power of the universe, and stand as a monument to justice, harmony, peace, and most importantly, wisdom. In the spot where the hut stood, the Elders and the Goddess used their magic to form the Hall of Wisdom, a magnificent and magical complex, the rare metals from which it was constructed shining with immense radiance, symbolizing hope and goodness to all. The entire history of Eternia, and all the wisdom of the universe, was contained within its walls. Many of the corridors were lined with Space Portals, which enabled transportation to any other planet in the universe.

To further stabilize the harmony of Eternia and protect the planet from another rise of evil, the Elders chose to install a system of monarchy which would rule over all Eternia, abiding by the wisdom of the Council. Kingdoms were formed all over Eternia, and as technology expanded, civilization began to grow. The first cities of the planet began to develop.

After the formation of the Hall of Wisdom, several of the Elders traveled to the neighboring world where the Whispering Woods lay, and adopted it as a sister planet to Eternia. The whole planet, radiant with incredible harmony among nature, the spirit of goodness present within the air, had a truly ethereal feel, so the Elders named this world Etheria, meaning ‘world of the ethereal’. They began to travel across this incredibly beautiful planet, exploring its material and magical resources and spreading their philosophy and wisdom to its natives. They also used their power to form a fortress that would act as Etheria’s equivalent of the Hall of Wisdom, as a sanctuary for truth, justice and peace. Made from resplendent crystal, they named it the Crystal Castle, and Light Hope agreed to act as its guardian. The Crystal Castle would serve as a symbol of healing and justice if evil forces ever threatened Etheria, and would be invisible to all but the Elders, its sentiments of peace radiated out towards the minds of the Etherians. The Elders established culture and global wisdom on Etheria, and became known throughout the planet’s history as ‘The First Ones’.

Back on Eternia, peace reigned across the planet, and under the new system of monarchy, the world began to flourish. But although Eternia was peaceful once again, the evil forces were still concentrated in desolate regions. The former leader of the Nocturnals, Zendar the Unholy, had fled to the Desert of Desolation, where together with his wife and several of his followers, he set up a Temple for them to continue their dark practices. Their aim was to concentrate and expand their dark magic, and pass it down through the generations, to form an ultimate being of darkness and destruction who would be born of the family bloodstream in centuries to come. A prophecy, written by Zendar on the walls of the temple, reads:

“When the forces of light and darkness clash
in the ultimate battle for the universe,
the darkness will spawn a being
to epitomize its very essence.
He will walk upon the light side,
He will walk upon the dark.
But no matter where he may tread,
He will always leave his mark.
Destruction shall engulf his walked path,
For he shall be the Lord of Destruction.”

Although Eternia was peaceful following the defeat of Serpos, back on the Black Continent, the snake deity’s defeat had led nevertheless to a horrific aftermath. A race of grotesque mutant hybrids between humans and snakes had evolved in the wake of Serpos’ defeat, known collectively as the Ophidians, or Snake People. No-one is exactly sure how the Snake People arrived on Eternia. Some say they came from another dimension that was leaked onto Eternia following the dimensional rifts involved in the war of Serpos. Others say they were formerly human members of the Nocturnals, mutated by the magic of Serpos. Others say they were simply the offspring of Serpos itself. What was known for sure was that they were of cold blood and intensely evil minds. They constructed a fortress out of the mountain which Serpos had become upon his imprisonment, which they named Snake Mountain, devoting as a monument to Serpos, their ultimate God.

For many centuries after their emergence on the Black Continent, the Snake People refrained from venturing beyond its barriers. But as their race grew in size, they began to make further ventures into the regular lands of Eternia, committing acts of crime and violence. At first the Elders and the monarchs of Eternia saw them as nothing more than a band of petty criminals, and foiled their crimes easily. But the Snake People bred, and evolved further, and the threat they posed became far more serious following the appearance of a member of their race who seemed to possess the power of a thousand of the regular Snake People. He was a colossal, five-headed serpent warrior and sorcerer, possessing incredible power which would prove to rival that of the Elders. He had a much longer lifespan than the rest of his race, and fed almost entirely on living creatures- including members of his own race, once they were too old or injured to serve him well, or had simply evoked his wrath. He was even said by some to be a partial incarnation of Serpos itself. The sound of his distinctive, loud hiss could evoke fear in living beings from miles away, so he became known as The Great Hiss. This powerful being had one dominant goal- conquest of Eternia, and he arranged the members of his race into armies, which marched towards the regular lands of Eternia.

Kingdoms were unprepared for the sudden immense attacks they received from the Snake Army, and many kingdoms were quickly conquered by these gruesome creatures. More and more kingdoms fell to the Snake Army, and the Elders suffered greater difficulty in repelling them. The Royal army of Eternia’s ruling capital, Solacios, mobilized defenses to counter the Snake Men. As the most powerful military force in Eternia, they provided the strongest resistance to the Snake Army’s attacks aside from the Elders.

But Hiss could not be defeated so easily. As his magic powers grew, he developed the skill to disguise himself as a human, conjuring up false human skin to conceal his true form. In this form, he pledged his services as a warrior to the Royal Family of Solacios, and was accepted into their ranks as a defender. He played along with their views of him as a noble warrior, by defending the city from the Snake Army in three staged attacks. Then, he took the Royal city by surprise by ripping off his false skin in the Royal Court and killing the entire Royal Family, as his army attacked once again. The Royal soldiers stood no chance against this unexpected assault, and almost all of them were killed within three hours. The entire kingdom lay in ruins. Hiss returned to his base in Snake Mountain, where he issued a proclamation across Eternia, declaring himself to be King of Eternia, ruling from Snake Mountain. Subsequently, his army destroyed thousands of villages and towns, slaughtering their inhabitants. Hundreds of innocent people were killed each day, and the feeling of equality and communion amongst the people of Eternia gradually vanished completely. Eternia had become the total opposite of what it used to be.

Now that he was officially ruler of Eternia, and was spreading his evil across the planet, King Hiss set his sights on his next goal- the Hall of Wisdom. It had been the power of the Elders that had contributed to the defeat of Serpos and his imprisonment in Snake Mountain. If Hiss could usurp the Elders’ power and gain access to their secrets, he would be able to expand his power even more, release Serpos, and possibly even spread his rule across the universe.

He led his army into battle in a huge assault on the Hall of Wisdom. He almost succeeded in breaching its walls, and only through an almighty effort did the Elders manage to fend the Snake Army off. After the battle, the Elders realized just how immensely the sanctity of their power was being threatened. Already, Eternia was being engulfed by destruction and poverty, and life had become a nightmare for the regular humans. If King Hiss got hold of the power of the Elders, the whole of Eternia- and possibly even the universe- would surely be doomed. But while the power of the Elders was greater than that of the Snake Army, the Snake Army’s power was rapidly increasing, and King Hiss was undoubtedly more powerful than any of the Elders individually. The system of global equality devised centuries ago by the Council of the Wise was at risk of collapsing in ultimate destruction.
So the leader of the Elders, Keclar, called to the stars for help. As the Elders were gathered in the throne room of the Hall of Wisdom, their prayers were answered. A beam of immense bright light filled the room, and out stepped The Goddess, the perfect counter to the Snake Army’s evil. She explained that as long as the forces of darkness continued to target Eternia, there must be some sort of extreme measures taken to ensure defense. Ancient legends among the deities of the universe told of how on Eternia’s darkest day, a great champion would come to defend Eternia from the forces of evil, and lead the forces of good into the ultimate showdown between good and evil. He would have the strength of ten thousand men, and a mind of true dignity and nobility. His name would be He-Man!
The Goddess explained that when that dark day came, they must select an ordinary mortal from the people of Eternia, and project their powers onto him. He would become He-Man, and act as their defender. As he gained the power of the Elders, he would effectively double their force as their power duplicated within his physique. The Elders must forge a mighty sword to act as a channel for their power, which would be presented to the chosen defender.

The Elders and The Goddess later held a sacred ritual within the deepest confines of the Hall of Wisdom, accompanied by Zodac, and several other Cosmic Enforcers. Together, gathered in a circle, they concentrated their powers together, and beamed them into the center, forming the Sword of Power. Although it had the appearance of an ordinary sword, this weapon possessed incredible power that would be used by the chosen defender to channel and duplicate the power of the Elders within himself. The Goddess instructed the Elders to decide carefully when the time for He-Man had come. Only when the ultimate force of darkness struck Eternia, and all seemed lost, would He-Man be needed. With that, The Goddess and the Cosmic Enforcers vanished in a beam of light energy.

At first, the Elders believed now must be the time to select from the ordinary Eternians the man who would be granted the power to become He-Man. But they chose to wait before making the decision for certain. Before selecting the defender, they had to be entirely sure that there was no other hope for Eternia. A call was sent out across the planet for a powerful defender to come to their aid.

Their call was soon answered by a young wizard, named Gray. Gray explained that he came from a tribe of powerful magicians and warriors, some of whom had aided the Elders during the war of Serpos. He had had a natural flare for magic since childhood- and on top of that, he was a mighty warrior, with great physical strength to match his magic power, providing him with a perfect unison of physical and metaphysical force. Gray was beaming with youthful over-exuberance, so the Elders suspected he may be exaggerating his ability to some extent. But one of the Elders said that he had tutored Gray in magic before, and his powers were indeed incredible. So Gray was permitted to take residence in the Hall of Wisdom as a defender.

When the Snake Army next attacked, Gray led the Elders into battle. King Hiss had become even more powerful, after absorbing the power of an ancient crystal forged by the Nocturnals. King Hiss enacted his strongest assault on the Hall of Wisdom yet. But when he came face to face with Gray, he was immediately set back by this warrior wizard’s amazing strength. Realizing he was no match for Gray’s physical strength, King Hiss summoned all his magic powers to counter his new opponent. But Gray retaliated by displaying his own magic powers, which not only weakened Hiss, but scattered his minions like flies. Overpowered by the might of the Elders and their amazing new defender, King Hiss ordered his army to make a hasty retreat, and they fled back to Snake Mountain.

Gray was congratulated by the Elders on his victory. He truly was a great hero, with the power to successfully defend Eternia from the Snake Army. He was accepted as their prime defender, and adopted the warrior name of He-Ro. In a subsequent council meeting, he was honored by Zodac and The Goddess and granted a portion of their power, to enhance his own strength against the opposition. It was decided that in its present form, the Hall of Wisdom was too vulnerable to attack force, and too easy for evil to breach. In order to make invasion harder for the enemy, the Hall must be reformed into a larger and more solid structure, in which the great secrets and power of the universe could be concealed more safely.

So the Elders, He-Ro, The Goddess and Zodac held another ritual within the deepest confines of the Hall of Wisdom. The great books which told of the secrets of the universe were burned together so that no evil being may ever lay their hands upon them, and together the Elders projected their knowledge and wisdom into a single object, which would contain all the wisdom of the universe formerly contained within the books, and more. This object was the Glowing Orb, a small sphere shining with radiant white light.
Their next step was to alter the structure of the Hall of Wisdom, so that the Glowing Orb, and all the power of the Elders, may be contained safely within. Merging their power, the Elders concentrated it towards the structure of the building. The Hall of Wisdom began to glow with a bright aura of light. The light grew and expanded, becoming brighter as it did so. The light engulfed the Hall of Wisdom more and more, until all that could be seen from the outside was the vague outline of the hall. Its shape began to change, as did its structure. Even the material from which the building was made began to change. The Hall of Wisdom slowly formed itself into a great castle, built from deep, gray stone. The front of the castle was covered by a huge stone gray skull, the ‘mouth’ acting as the Jaw Bridge. The glimmering towers of the Hall of Wisdom had been replaced by the dark, foreboding image of Castle Grayskull, named after Gray. Even the insides of the building changed- gone were the shimmering walls on which the wisdom of the universe was written, and in their place were dark, stone corridors, with thousands of secret, magical rooms, and chambers filled with nothing but swirling energy. The majority of the castle was a maze of chaos- for the castle was filled with the chaos of infinite knowledge and power. Despite its enormous size, the castle seemed even bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.
During the spell, the Elders’ magic had swallowed up a large portion of the surrounding ground, forming a deep and wide abyss around the whole castle. The abyss was far too wide for a human to jump over, and far too deep for anyone to dare- the bottom of the abyss could not be seen from above ground, and it was even said to be bottomless. The act of invasion would now be even more difficult for intruders. The mere image of Castle Grayskull was enough to drive the average invader away.

Following the creation of Grayskull, the Elders were now even better prepared to tackle King Hiss and the Snake Army in battle, led by Gray, who now used the name He-Ro. The war became much more difficult for King Hiss and his Snake Army. Not only could they not enter Grayskull, but the incredible power of He-Ro continued to foil their many attempts to take over the castle. Hiss’ schemes grew more evil and cunning as he tried harder and harder to breach the castle, but He-Ro called a great band of warriors to his aid, and together with the Elders, achieved many successes in defending Grayskull and freeing parts of Eternia from the Snake Army’s rule.

The war between He-Ro and the Snake Army lasted many years. In the early stages of the war, He-Ro’s magic detected a great source of power located within a timeless dimension. Using the time corridors of Grayskull to travel, He-Ro ventured into this dimension, and he met a great sorcerer, who possessed incredible power but had somehow lost his memory, and become stranded in the timeless dimension. He-Ro brought the sorcerer to Eternia, and he proved to have incredible power almost as great as He-Ro’s own. The sorcerer, who believed his name was Eldor, was wise and intelligent, and became a mentor to the youthful He-Ro, teaching him to maintain his calm in battle and develop his battle skills to their full potential.

After many years of great battles, King Hiss called upon the Gods of darkness to form a new monument that would serve to concentrate his own power into a single fixed space, and thus rival the power of Grayskull. Together with a team of his Snake Men, he constructed the fortress Viper Tower. Within the walls of Viper Tower was the very power and essence of evil upon which King Hiss’ powers were built. A mere entrance to the tower was capable of turning the most heroic and noble of humans into evil savages, and Hiss hoped that its power may someday be used to awaken Serpos.

The presence of Viper Tower created much havoc as King Hiss lured ordinary humans and heroic warriors into its depths and converted them to his side. He-Ro realized that he must take action, but attacking Viper Tower would not be enough, for its power may be strong enough to corrupt him. So instead, He-Ro and the Elders set about forming a tower of goodness opposite Viper Tower, which they named Grayskull Tower, made from the same deep gray stone from which Castle Grayskull was constructed. Grayskull Tower served to further the powers of good, and counter the evil of Viper Tower. He-Ro dispatched lookouts to stand permanently atop Grayskull Tower and observe the action around Viper Tower, so that any ordinary humans lured by Viper Tower’s evil could be brought to Grayskull Tower and achieve renewal. As well as freeing ordinary humans from King Hiss’ evil, Grayskull Tower also succeeded in converting some of the Snake Army to the side of good. A tribe of Snake People lured into Grayskull Tower by its aura found themselves overwhelmed by the divinity within, and upon their exit, were convinced to turn away from Hiss’ evil, and declared their rebellion against Hiss. Calling themselves the Reptons, they separated from the Snake Army and rose up against Hiss alongside the Elders.

King Hiss was furious that the Elders had achieved such success in countering his greatest weapon yet. A huge battle was waged between King Hiss and He-Ro, between the two Towers- but as the magic of both foes coursed throughout the battleground, it fused together between the two Towers, and a third tower was formed- Central Tower, the fusion between the powers of good and evil. The presence of Central Tower caused King Hiss to retreat in dismay, for the Tower was having a terrible effect on him that was turning him good- for the first time in his evil life, he began to have second thoughts about his way of life and the mass genocides he had committed. He fled the scene, and his Snake Men retreated after him.

After the battle, He-Ro and the Elders explored the Three Towers in depth, and realized that Central Tower contained the perfect fusion between the powers of both good and evil to enable the light to permanently overcome the dark. Together, the Three Towers were a perfect monument to the Council of the Wise’s ancient philosophy of balance, and were therefore The Ultimate Battleground.

While King Hiss had almost been changed completely by the Towers, he came back days later in an immense fury, more savage and brutal than ever. It is thought that his first ever spark of remorse had strengthened the determination of his inner evil to encompass his whole being. So that the Towers would pose no further threat to him, he attempted to use his army to destroy them outright. But as He-Ro and King Hiss fought atop Central Tower, Hiss was overwhelmed by the heroic power within, and began to shrink from the battle. He quickly regained his composure, and teleported away from the Towers, leading an ultimate assault on Grayskull. With He-Ro still at the site of the Three Towers, Hiss was able to use his immense powers to lower the Jaw Bridge and enter Grayskull for the first time. His army stormed Grayskull, but Hiss was quickly confused and overwhelmed by the chaos and powers of goodness that lay within- and having been weakened by his experiences at The Three Towers, was quickly brought down by He-Ro when the great defender finally caught up with him. The ultimate battle between the two foes ensued within the depths of Grayskull. Realizing he was losing, Hiss teleported back to Snake Mountain, but He-Ro was able to teleport there too, and Hiss was sent spiraling down into a deep chasm beneath Snake Mountain. As he lay unconscious on the ground, the Elders, together with The Goddess, used their powers to overwhelm the scattered Snake Army and banish them into an immense void they had formed beneath the mountain, which led to the timeless dimension from which Eldor had emerged. Almost the entire race was banished to the Void, and finally, after all these years, the great evil that was the Snake Army was defeated.

He-Ro had suffered great wounds in his final battle with Hiss, and used up all of his energy. His limp body was teleported back to Grayskull and laid down in the Recovery Room of the castle, but he had been physically destroyed by the whole ordeal and would clearly not survive. He opened his eyes lightly, and spoke his final words to the Elders:

"There will be ... another ... to come ... after me ... (cough) ... a hero named He-Man ... who will appear during (cough) ... Eternia's darkest day..."
After these words, he died, a true savior.

He-Ro was buried deep within Grayskull, and his energy rose from the tomb, and flowed to the chamber where the Sword of Power was kept. The energy entered the sword, to be inherited by the defender He-Ro had prophesized to emerge on Eternia’s darkest day.

Although few Snake Men had survived on Eternia following the final battle, the Reptons signed a peace treaty with the Elders, and were permitted to remain on Eternia. Although they had now achieved great respect from the Elders, they declared that to compensate for the crimes of their race, they would base themselves below ground and never bother the world above again. Switching their worship from Serpos to The Goddess, they settled in an underground kingdom beneath a large stone pyramid, and stayed there.

Two other survivors were General Rattlor, one of King Hiss’ most trusted commanders, and his comrade Tung Lashor. Knowing they would only be imprisoned by the Elders if they remained on Eternia, they fled to the world of Etheria. On Etheria, they made a vain attempt to seize power and establish a Snake regime. They attacked the tribes of the Northern Plains and tore apart their whole landscape, turning a beautiful area of grass and woodland into a barren, desolate landscape. But their presence soon caught the attention of Light Hope, who summoned a team of sorcerers descended from the First Ones to counter the evil of these two Snake Men. Rattlor and Tung Lashor were overpowered in no time, and committed suicide by drinking their own poison before they could be imprisoned. They were buried in a deep tomb beneath the now barren plain.

Much of Eternia lay in ruins after the war with the Snake Army. Several tribes and species had been wiped out completely, and many formerly affluent kingdoms had now been reduced to poverty. So the Elders immediately set about restoring peace and justice to Eternia. The greatest warriors of the battles were honored by the Elders for their services by being crowned as Kings and Queens across Eternia. Together they set about rebuilding the kingdoms that had been torn apart by the Snake Men.

Shortly after King Hiss’ defeat, Eldor, hailed alongside He-Ro as one of the saviors of the war, vanished mysteriously. It was unclear where he went. He simply ventured out into the open to help restore order on Eternia, and never returned. He was last seen wandering the Fertile Plains, and attempts to trace him met with no success. His end, therefore, was as mysterious as his origins.

As warriors were crowned Kings and Queens all over Eternia, The Elders decided that the planet’s overall ruler should rule from within Grayskull, so that he would have the power of the castle at his own command for the purposes of good. Following the death of He-Ro, the perfect ruler for the planet would be none other than Gray’s younger brother, Therouanne. He had proved himself a strong and noble warrior during the war, and having trained from birth and enhanced his skills through fighting alongside his brother, he was now the most powerful and dignified of all the remaining warriors. So he was crowned King of Eternia, and as he was the first of Eternia’s Kings to command the power of Grayskull, he took the name of King Grayskull.

King Grayskull ruled over the planet peacefully, alongside his wife, the sorceress Veena. Shortly after taking the throne, Veena gave birth to a son, Tamask, whom they trained as a warrior from childhood. But although it may have seemed as though Eternia was nearing another age of peace, this could not have been further from the truth.

Hey Mosquitor. I did read your first chapter, the "First Civilizations.." and thought it was excellent. I'll try and get to the next couple chapters soon, but again, there is a lot there to absorb all at once. Hope you don't feel discouraged and stop posting, because you are doing good work, but writing does take a lot more time to get into than a drawing or photo...

Hey Mosquitor. I did read your first chapter, the "First Civilizations.." and thought it was excellent. I'll try and get to the next couple chapters soon, but again, there is a lot there to absorb all at once. Hope you don't feel discouraged and stop posting, because you are doing good work, but writing does take a lot more time to get into than a drawing or photo...

No worries. I know people need time to read these things, just wanted to make sure some people were reading. I'll leave this up a couple more days before posting the next chapter

Ever since the war of Serpos, centuries before, the dimensional rifts brought about by The Nocturnals between Eternia and Infinita had continued brewing, until they eventually caught the attention of the great power source in the center of Infinita’s galaxy, which Zodac had detected at the time but been unable to explore. This power source was located on the largest, central, and by far the most evil planet in the galaxy- a planet known as Prime. The planet Prime was even more dark, violent and sinister than Infinita, for it was filled with evil beings who worshipped the deity believed to be the greatest God of evil in the entire universe- the God Prime, after whom the planet was named. Prime was considered by many to be the essence of evil itself, and no-one on his world dared oppose him. He was the most terrifying of all the evil deities, for he had never been known to manifest in any kind of physical form- he seemed to be more of a colossal, all-encompassing entity, which could be watching anyone at any time, occasionally making his presence known with the appearance of thick, black clouds and beaming red eyes.

Determined to spread his evil across the universe, Prime had formed a huge army of evil warriors, which he named the Horde. For centuries, the Horde had been dispatched throughout the universe to conquer numerous worlds and bring the natives to their knees at the name of Prime. Prime had long been exploring the dimensional warps around Infinita, and transcending his consciousness through them. He finally became aware of the world of Eternia- and the great power that lay there. Realizing that absorbing the power of this planet would enable to him to conquer the universe, he immediately set about planning a Horde invasion of Eternia.

When his army was ready, they traveled to Infinita, from where they began to pass through the dimensional portals to Eternia, emerging on the Black Continent. The Eternians were unprepared for this sudden assault. Even though several decades had passed since the Snake War, the planet was still in its early stages of recovery, and all of a sudden, it seemed that the nightmare had started all over again.

Prime used his magic to build a fortress for the Horde on the further reaches of the Black Continent, which he named the Fright Zone. Day by day, the Horde attacked cities and kingdoms all across Eternia. They proved even deadlier than the Snake Army had been. Whereas the main force of the Snake Army had been magic, the Horde, like the Elders, used a combination of magic and science to enact their evil schemes. For the first time in history, Eternia was hit by terrifying machinations, and mechanized beings. And the deadliest element of Prime was that while King Hiss had been an exceptionally powerful being, Prime was nothing less than a God- and his lack of a physical form meant that many of his attacks on Eternia were unseen. And while the evil of the Snake Men had paralleled that of Serpos in that it was mostly feral and savage, Prime encompassed not only the primal side of evil but also the civilized, meaning that his approach towards conquest was calmer and more calculated than that of King Hiss. Before the Eternians were able to adjust to peace, all hope was immediately swiped from them as the force of the Horde engulfed the planet.

As soon as King Grayskull became aware of the danger, he wasted no time. Immediately, he gathered a team of the planet’s strongest warriors, and led them into battle against the Horde. The Elders kept the Sword of Power under close guard in case it was decided that now was the time for He-Man… but King Grayskull was determined that he would be able to rid the planet of the Horde with his own powers.

While the Horde succeeded in conquering many kingdoms, they were taken aback by the strength of King Grayskull and the power from within the castle. While the ordinary Eternians lived in fear of Prime due to his constant unseen attacks, his power, no matter how strong, was still not strong enough to breach Castle Grayskull.

But the severity of Prime’s attacks increased when he launched an attack on the Three Towers. Prime himself, being a God, was immune to the effects of the magic of balance within Central Tower. But he did gain a great portion of new power from the Towers. He moved onwards to Castle Grayskull, where he sent beams of immense magic down from the skies onto the castle, shaking the surrounding ground. The magic of Grayskull prevented deities of evil such as Prime from entering metaphysically, but as he repeatedly blasted the castle, the jaw bridge was at a severe risk of falling.

King Grayskull knew he must act quickly. From within the castle, he raised his sword and called to the stars above. Telepathically, he heard the voice of The Goddess, telling him that the power was within himself… but to mobilize it effectively, he must concentrate on unifying his soul.

King Grayskull was confused by The Goddess’ cryptic advice, and was unsure what to do. But Veena felt she knew the answer- as in traditional Eternian symbolism, the husband and wife were seen as separate sides of a unified soul. The Goddess was demanding that Grayskull combine his battle force with that of his wife, in order to balance their full soul against Prime’s evil. Together, King Grayskull and Veena ascended to the ramparts of the castle, where they joined their powers of masculine physical force, and feminine nurture and justice, against Prime’s attack. Channeling their power through Grayskull’s sword, they projected it towards Prime, and soon overpowered him, causing him to flee. King Grayskull then realized that in order to fend off evil most effectively, the universal balance must be further enforced by combining masculine strength and brutality with feminine nurture and harmony- the power of the great Goddess herself, the creator of all. The power of his own heroism, combined with that of Veena, was now present within his sword, making it almost as powerful as the as-yet-unused Sword of Power.

But although King Grayskull had successfully defeated Prime’s latest attack, Prime’s power had nevertheless been boosted immensely, and he could easily obtain more power and conquer the castle. King Grayskull took a trip into the highest reaches of the Mystic Mountains, where he sat among the peaks and sank into deep meditation.

In meditation, he felt the presence of the Cosmic Enforcer, Zodac. Zodac provided him with major information that would enable Grayskull to rid Eternia of Prime and the Horde for good. He explained that the Horde was an intergalactic empire, and they ruled many planets throughout the universe. Their unification of magic and science in their quest for universal domination had enabled them to become the strongest of all evil threats to peace in the entire universe. For by partially integrating elements of the universal system of balance into their tactics, they had achieved power over many worlds throughout the universe.

The key to stopping them, therefore, was to combine magic with science in one major force of good against their evil. While there were many great scientists on the side of good, the heroic forces did not yet possess technology as advanced as that of the Horde. Zodac told Grayskull that he must journey to the planet Primus, a technologically-advanced world light years away from Eternia, which had recently been conquered by the Horde. Primus’ machinery was powered in part by magical Trithuseum Crystals, made from a natural magic mineral which could be used for both magical defense and the powering of machinery, thus epitomizing the unified power of magic with technology. By absorbing the power of the Trithuseum Crystals, Grayskull would be able to diminish the Horde’s power greatly, and rid Eternia of their evil.

Grayskull took immediate action. He returned to the castle, and informed Veena and the Elders of what Zodac had told him. He ventured into the Corridor of Dimensions, hidden within Grayskull, which housed the thousands of space portals to other worlds and dimensions throughout the universe, and entered the portal that led to Primus, located in the Triax Star System.

When Grayskull emerged on Primus, he found it to be a world strongly driven by technology, ruled by evil scientists in Prime’s service, who were intent on establishing a race of super-powerful mechanized beings to wipe out all traces of humanity on Primus. King Grayskull stepped to the aid of the Primands, and used the magic gained by his sword to reinforce the power of the good and the way of the magic on this world.

After using his power against the evil rulers, Grayskull was accepted as a hero by the planet’s heroic Galactic Council. He explained to them that he came from the world of Eternia, and was on a quest to obtain some of the Trithuseum Crystals, to unify the forces of magic and science in order to banish the Horde from his world. By doing so, he said, he would also be able to save Primus.

Grayskull joined forces with the council, and used his tremendous strength, the power of his sword, and the Trithuseum Crystals, to overcome the evil rulers of Primus. Unprepared for a counter-attack of such great magical force, they were eventually overpowered, and all of them either perished or were taken prisoner. Grayskull then reopened the portal to Eternia, and returned to his homeworld, accompanied by the members of the Galactic Council.

It was not long before Prime attacked Castle Grayskull, determined to overcome the castle after his last failed attempt. This time, his forces were met by the great machinations of the Primands, which equaled their own in power. As the Galactic Council, together with King Grayskull’s warriors, did battle with the Horde, King Grayskull took on their devilish leader. The Trithuseum Crystals, combined with the magic of the Elders, emanated a great magical field that weakened Prime. As King Grayskull channeled his magic through his sword towards Prime, he realized what he needed to overcome the warlord’s evil once and for all. Grayskull feigned retreat into the castle, followed by Veena. Veena used her powers to fix a Trithuseum crystal into the center of Grayskull’s sword, to epitomize the definitive balance between magic and science. Then the Galactic Council ascended to the castle’s turrets, armed with their Trithuseum-powered weapons. As Prime veered towards the castle, believing his opponent was about to surrender, he was met by an almighty blast of power, combining magic with science, as Grayskull re-emerged onto the battlements. The power of Grayskull’s sword, the Trithuseum Crystal fuelling the council’s machinery, overpowered Prime, stunning him. While Prime was stunned, a mere floating field of energy, the Elders and Grayskull were able to channel the essence of goodness from within the castle, and banish Prime back to his homeworld. King Grayskull had used so much strength and energy through this effort that he collapsed immediately afterwards, and was taken to the Recovery Room.

The Elders tended to Grayskull, but he had been physically weakened and clearly did not have long to live. Like his brother before him, his victory over evil had cost him his life. As he lay in the recovery room, with Veena, the Elders and the Galactic Council aside him, he prophesized that if Primus ever found itself in danger once again from technological chaos, the Primands must reach back through time and bring the power of the good and the way of the magic to their world, to defend it from evil. His sword, meanwhile, now possessed incredible power and must be kept alongside the Sword of Power as the second of Castle Grayskull’s sacred swords. Like the Sword of Power, it would be presented to a chosen defender when the forces of darkness rose to their highest peak… only this sword must be presented to a female defender, who would serve to balance the power of the forces of good. Feminine nurture, and the wisdom of the universal Mother, would fight alongside masculine strength and order to maintain the prosperity of good over evil, whilst protecting the honor of Grayskull. For its purposes, the sword would be named the Sword of Protection. Grayskull died peacefully, holding onto Veena’s hands. His spirit flowed into both the Sword of Power and the Sword of Protection, so Eternia’s future defenders would be imbued with his amazing power.

Eternia was free once again, and the people of both Eternia and Primus now hailed King Grayskull as their savior. A treaty of eternal alliance was declared between the Eternians and the Primands. The Galactic Council vowed to use the wisdom of the Eternian Elders to maintain the balance on their world. They returned to Primus to rebuild the planet after the damage caused by the Horde, and mobilize its technological resources for the purposes of good, with magic as their prime fuel of stability.

Eternia lay in a severe state of turmoil after its many years of war. The blows which the planet had been dealt by the Snake Army had only been intensified by the invasion of the Horde. The spirit of equality and communion had been weakened across the planet, and there were now many minor wars between various tribes throughout Eternia, while a greater number of criminals were also present. The Elders knew that it would take a long time, possibly centuries, to restore the planet to its former glory.

After debating how to go about restoring global peace to Eternia, the Elders decided that the planet should be ruled once again by regular monarchy, as in the days before the Snake Invasion. If Castle Grayskull played too active a role in the regular ruling of the planet, more evil forces would be sure to target Eternia. Also, a regular monarchy would be more easily accessible to the ordinary Eternians than the Elders were, within the depths of Castle Grayskull.

So once again, the greatest heroes of the war were instated as Kings and Queens across Eternia. Queen Veena passed the position of the planet’s overall ruler down to Tamask, the son of King Grayskull and herself, now a great warrior and hero. Tamask and his men traveled to the Fertile Plains, where together they constructed a beautiful city that they named Eternos, which would serve as Eternia’s ruling capital. King Tamask took the throne of the city’s Royal Palace, and immediately set to work restoring peace to Eternia.

As King Tamask ruled over Eternia, the affairs of the Elders became more secretive, as they withdrew themselves from active participation in Eternia for the planet’s safety. Veena remained Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, deciding that upon the mortal deaths of the Elders, the mantle of Sorceress should be passed down across the generations to protect the castle’s secrets. The jaw bridge of the castle was raised for the last time in thousands of years, and Tamask was left to rule with the wisdom of the Elders.

I've been swamped with schoolwork and finals, but fortunately, I've finally been sit down and start reading. I just finished Chapter One and found it be rather good. You have a very Tolkien-esque quality to your writing.

I'll be getting to the rest in the next day or so. It's a lot to digest, so I gotta have a little time to wrap my head around it. Good stuff to digest, though!

The reign of King Tamask was to mark the start of many centuries of peace on Eternia, throughout which civilization and technology developed and expanded significantly. Although he possessed much of his parents’ nobility and wisdom, Tamask’s rule was initially rather misguided. Having been raised as a warrior in a climate of extreme violence, he had been misled to believe that violence was the first necessary means to solve the planet’s problems. Therefore, at first Tamask’s rule was barbaric and violent, as his soldiers became caught up in numerous conflicts with other kingdoms across Eternia. But one night, Tamask returned to his palace claiming to have experienced an amazing encounter with a being from the future, who could possibly have been a descendant of his own. He explained that he had now realized violence was not a necessary measure, and was ready to change his ways, only fighting when he must. He set about restoring full peace, harmony and tranquility to the planet, to honor the discoveries of The Council of the Wise from centuries ago.

While life on Eternia was still rather rough for the remainder of Tamask’s life, in the long term he more than succeeded in restoring peace to Eternia. There were difficult periods, such as the Dragon Wars which came shortly after Tamask’s death. In the midst of the global poverty, a group of humans, with a hunger for riches, had invaded the Isles of Darksmoke, a series of remote islands off the Sea of Rakash which were home to a great and powerful race of dragons, who possessed supreme intelligence and lived amazingly long lifespans. The humans had no respect for the dragons, whom they saw as nothing more than savage beasts, no different from the evil forces which had threatened Eternia. Therefore, they proceeded to steal the Dragons’ mineral resources, claiming that they rightfully belonged to humanity. The dragons’ leader, Granamyr, oldest and wisest of the dragons of Darksmoke, was furious at the humans’ treatment of his race. Darksmoke had always been largely secluded from the rest of Eternia, with its natives having had no involvement in the wars which had previously raged across the planet. Granamyr had always seen the wars as an example of human greed and corruption, and had therefore already looked down on humans for many centuries. But the invasion of his homeland by these particular humans angered him immensely, and he declared war between the dragons and the humans. The Dragon Wars lasted several hundred years, and throughout this time, the dragons proved much more powerful than the humans, maintaining a strong hold on their natural resources. Eventually, the dragons won the war, when the humans finally gave in to their immense power and were driven from the Isles altogether. Granamyr then passed laws banning all humans from setting foot on the Isles of Darksmoke, and humans would forever be bitter enemies of the dragons.

But over the centuries, subsequent rulers of Eternos City dedicated their lives to restoring the full system of justice and equality to the planet. Derelict kingdoms were rebuilt into beautiful cities, forests developed over desolate plains, tribes shattered by the wars of the Snake Army and the Horde were given the chance to repair their lifestyles and culture. Technology improved and advanced, following the skills the Eternians had gained from the Primands. Machinery began to develop, and each of the monarchs of Eternos was served by a Man-At-Arms who would build and maintain the technology and weaponry necessary to keep the planet safe. After several hundred years, the balance had been fully restored once more. Eternia lived in peace for thousands of years. Wars on the planet were minor and had little effect, and no further evil forces from other realms of the cosmos made any attempts on Eternia. The great heroic power of this planet was now well-known throughout the universe, to the extent that few of the universe’s greatest evils would dare touch it. Castle Grayskull’s jaw bridge remained closed for many centuries, and the existence of the castle was almost forgotten, to the extent that many people came to believe it was nothing more than a legend.

However, the planet's stability was not to be retained, and after the many centuries of peace, the tranquility of Eternia was finally shattered with the dawn of a period that came to be known as The Great Unrest.

The onset of the Great Unrest began with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of the planet’s ruler, King Miro. The King vanished abruptly and without warning, and after several searches for him proved inconclusive, the people of Eternia were plunged into disarray and trauma at the disappearance of their beloved ruler. His disappearance led to a bitter rivalry between his two sons, Randor and Keldor, over which of them would rule in Miro’s place.

Randor, the younger of the two sons, was a noble and peace-loving young man who had trained from birth as a warrior, and was now highly regarded among the people of Eternia as a brave and dignified soldier. Nothing mattered to him more than helping his people prosper. His older brother Keldor, however, had taken a completely different direction. Keldor was dissatisfied with the standards of life on Eternia, and felt the planet was lost in excessive formality and over-civilization. Since his youth, he had felt that the planet needed to reacquaint itself with the great power of its founders, retain touch with the higher meaning of reality and return to a more primitive, tribal way of life. Attracted to the works of controversial philosophers and sorcerers who dabbled in the darker side of magic, Keldor became lost in studies of taboo thinkers and practitioners, and quickly became misguided in his quest for enlightenment.

Keldor began himself to dabble in the black arts and dark magic, determined to achieve a true sense of power and superiority. Ever since he was a teenager, Keldor had always been seen by many people, including his own family, as a social outcast, with little interest in the affairs of Eternia. While the rest of the Royal Family tended to the kingdom and the people, Keldor would remain locked alone in his private rooms, absorbed in his studies and sorcery. His misguided pursuit of enlightenment led him to study the philosophies and practices of The Nocturnals and other sects of black sorcery. He studied the legends of Castle Grayskull, and believed that if the great power held by the Ancients could be rediscovered, he could use this power to rule over Eternia.

“Grayskull was but a waste of great power.
Whilst the Elders possessed all the power and secrets they needed to control the whole universe, they put this power to waste by concealing it in an impenetrable edifice with the apparent intention of preserving it to maintain their notions of universal harmony. Wasted the power has been, for to this day it is all but forgotten- yet Eternian society continues nevertheless to abide by the blind notion that tranquility exists by default amongst all humans, and thus conflicts go unacknowledged, while society is in a seemingly perpetual state of stagnant boredom. It is time for the ‘superhumans’ spoken of by The Nocturnals to re-emerge from their overlong oppression, rediscover the lost Castle Grayskull, and usurp its power to use it for the correct means- to establish true prosperity for society, and the dominance of the fittest and most intelligent humans over the blind elite.”
(Soreli Akhnatas, historian and philosopher)

But Keldor’s pursuit of power led him to explore many taboo realms of magic, and he became lost in the black arts, his mind hell-bent on nothing more than great power.

And he did achieve great power- by the age of twenty-one, Keldor was already a mighty sorcerer, who would astound his family and the citizens of Eternia with his amazing magical feats. But others were heavily concerned about him, feeling his powers were dangerous, and that he was being corrupted by the black arts he had excelled in. Several years later, after the disappearance of Miro, Keldor proclaimed himself the ideal successor to his father. He attempted to seduce the Eternians into approving him as their King, by addressing them with his plans for improvement of society, and demonstrating how he would achieve this by displaying his incredible magic powers. But the people, and the rest of the Royal Family, saw his words as those of an angry and misguided outcast rather than a noble revolutionary. His philosophies of divisions of superiority between mankind completely conflicted with the system of balance and equality that the Eternians had thrived in for many centuries. A world ruled by Keldor would inevitably turn into a chaotic dictatorship.

The Eternians grew to fear Keldor, and called for Randor to become King. Keldor was furious that the Eternians were in favor of his brother rather than himself. Not only was Randor younger than him, but he was also, in Keldor’s view, foolish and naďve, another member of the ‘blind elite’. Keldor came to the conclusion that all the people, like his brother, were simply inferior, feeble-minded fools, and decided that to ensure domination of the strongest breed, he must take the throne of Eternia by force. He ventured into the palace dungeons, and freed all the criminals within, inviting them to join him in the great revolution. Then he used his magic to summon a plethora of demons from the dark dimensions, and challenged Randor to fight him for the crown. Chaos ensued as the two brothers battled against one another for control of Eternia; Randor and the palace soldiers against Keldor and his band of criminals and magical demons.

Eternos City was plunged into war as the two brothers battled away, day by day. Keldor was clearly far more powerful than Randor, who had to summon the combined energies of some of Eternia’s most respected magicians to keep his brother away from the throne. The combined skills of Eternos’ finest sorcerer, Mesmerus, and one of the city’s greatest scientists, Marlena, were Randor’s prime aid in defending the city and the people from his warped brother. Keldor made continuous attempts on the city, and the whole of Eternos soon lived in fear of the power of its fallen Prince.

But the real nightmare had not yet begun. The instability within Eternia’s monarchy soon led to further chaos, throughout not only Eternos, but the whole planet. A warlord named Prahvus, from an unknown dimension, chose this time of unrest to make an attempt on Eternia, his main goal being to uncover the power of the Ancients and rule the planet for himself. With a band of bloodthirsty accomplices, Prahvus and his forces soon ravaged many kingdoms, slaughtering thousands of innocent people. And Prahvus was not the only warlord who chose to take advantage of the uneasy governmental situation. His siege evoked a huge myriad of other warlords, from both Eternia and other dimensions, to do the same thing and begin their own conquests of Eternia. The whole planet was plunged into chaos as the Great Unrest took hold.

As various warlords made their own attempts on Eternos, Keldor now faced much more opposition than just his brother. Just as he had seemed to be on the cusp of winning, he now found himself in a situation where he would undoubtedly lose unless he took drastic action. After nearly all the criminals he had hired to do his deeds perished in an enormous battle between multiple forces, Keldor fled from the war to seek out a different route to the power he desired. He traveled to the Black Continent to go in search of the legendary Snake Mountain, to learn the secrets of the Snake Army. He had grown to highly respect King Hiss and his regime through his endless studies, and if he could learn some of King Hiss’ secrets or absorb a portion of his power, he may obtain the force he needed to rule Eternia for himself… or even uncover Castle Grayskull.

But neither Keldor nor the warlords would be Eternia’s greatest threat during the Great Unrest. For the real chaos began when the situation caught the attention of none other than the most feared god of all- Prime- many centuries after his defeat at the hands of King Grayskull.

Following his previous defeat on Eternia, Prime had nevertheless continued to expand his Horde, and had conquered thousands of planets throughout the universe over the many centuries. He now ruled over the most widespread evil empire in the universe. With the Horde now widely recognized as the universe’s greatest intergalactic force of evil, Prime was now known as Horde Prime, and his homeworld had become known as Horde World. He had stayed away from Eternia since his defeat, knowing that the power of Grayskull could be strong enough to destroy him. But he had always intended to strike the planet once again when his own power had increased- and with his power now having greatly expanded, he decided that now, at this time of unrest, his chance had come to gain the power he desired most of all in the universe.

Deciding that his attack would be most effective if executed subtly, he chose to elect one of his finest warriors to lead the assault on Eternia, who would be mistaken for a regular warlord. He chose the warrior Xazrog, from the planet of Academica. Although Xazrog had initially been trained as a sorcerer, he later defected to the realms of science, and was now a highly intelligent and skilled scientist and inventor, and a specialist in nanotechnology, using the magic powers he learned earlier to fuel his scientific advances. Xazrog had served Prime since his youth and was one of his strongest and most loyal warriors. So he was the finest choice for leader of the Horde assault on Eternia.

Xazrog was beamed down to Eternia, with a huge fleet of warriors and Horde Troopers. Emerging on the Black Continent, Xazrog’s initial plan was to locate Prime’s old base, the Fright Zone, and resurrect it as the Horde base. But while traversing the Black Continent, he encountered none other than Keldor, who was seeking out Snake Mountain. Both Xazrog and Keldor immediately saw the other as a perfect opportunity to expand their force. Although Keldor generally despised practitioners of science, he knew he would need some kind of army alongside him to challenge his brother for Eternia’s crown. So he offered his services to Xazrog as prime sorcerer, secretly plotting to overthrow Xazrog once the war was won, believing that the superiority of magic over science would ensure his eventual dominance over Xazrog. Xazrog, meanwhile, felt that a magician of Keldor’s power would provide powerful assistance to his mostly technology-driven force, so he accepted Keldor’s services. Keldor told Xazrog of the ancient legends of the Snake Men, and how they could benefit from learning their secrets. So together, they trekked across the Black Continent to locate Snake Mountain. Following his knowledge of the ancient battles, Keldor managed to roughly locate the spot where Snake Mountain had stood. Sensing a magical power deep within an ordinary-looking mountain nearby, Keldor realized that this must be the object of his search- the normal-looking mountain within which the Snake Army’s old headquarters had been concealed for centuries. Keldor and Xazrog combined their powers of magic and technology to blow away the rock concealing Snake Mountain. For the first time in centuries, the ancient fortress of evil was exposed to full view. They entered the mountain, and took it as their own base, exploring it for secrets and treasures formerly held by the Snake Men, which would help them in their conquest.

Xazrog’s conquest of Eternia could not have gone more smoothly. As planned, when he first attacked, the Eternians mistook him for another ordinary warlord, and saw him as nothing more than an average threat. But when Xazrog made an attack on Eternos, together with Keldor, they dealt such devastating blows to the city that Randor and his soldiers realized they were dealing with something far deadlier. Randor and his men had thought beforehand that Keldor had abandoned his hopes of ruling Eternia following the defeat of his army. But now he had resurfaced, having for some reason allied himself with this mysterious warlord, and together they possessed a swift combination of magic and science that easily countered the powers and resources of Randor’s forces. And after the battle was over, with Xazrog’s forces barely driven from the capital by Marlena’s machinery and Mesmerus’ magic, one of the city’s leading historians came forth, having recognized the bat symbol on the Troopers’ chests. It was the symbol worn thousands of centuries ago by the forces of the Horde, who had almost conquered Eternia. This was Eternia’s biggest threat in centuries. The Horde had returned, and Xazrog was leading them in the name of the dreaded god Prime.

Following the realization of the Horde’s return, the leaders of Eternos took serious action to mobilize their defense forces. Randor was quickly instated as King, and one of his leading battle comrades, Duncan, a skilled warrior and inventor, was promoted to the position of Man-At-Arms and given the command of the Royal forces. Together they defended the city from numerous attacks, from the Horde and other warlords. Xazrog and the Horde were undoubtedly the strongest of all the evil forces, and much of Eternos City was destroyed in the battles. It was clear that Xazrog’s forces would take over Eternia in no time, at this rate, as Randor’s forces began to weaken and diminish in number.

As Xazrog conquered more and more kingdoms across Eternia, the regular warlords on the planet began to weaken, their forces nowhere near as strong as the Horde. A major turning point in the Great Unrest occurred when a strange young scientist named Galen Nycroft, who had trained at the City of Lights under his mentor Sortech, bribed the warlord Prahvus into stealing a powerful device called the Ergon. The City of Lights was the epicenter of Eternia’s technology, a great city of machinic complexes and advanced industry in which many of Eternia’s technological advances were instigated. Sortech was the city’s leader and its most skilled scientist, and the Ergon was his greatest invention- a special device that could provide Eternia with unlimited technological power. Nycroft, who had a brilliant mind but was also overly ambitious and excitable, felt mistreated by Sortech, who considered his inventions and desires to be born of insanity rather than genius. To overcome his master and lead the City of Lights himself, Nycroft seduced Prahvus into stealing the Ergon from Sortech, promising to aid him as master scientist if he helped him kill Sortech. By this point, with the strength of the Horde rapidly increasing, Prahvus had formed an alliance with various other warlords to complete his conquest. Together with his allies, Prahvus was beamed by Nycroft to the City of Lights, where he seized the Ergon, overpowered Sortech, and with Nycroft’s help created deadly machinery with incredible power, which he set upon the Eternians. But this newfound boost to the warlords’ strength did not last long, for the events at the City of Lights caught the attention of Xazrog, who stormed upon the city with his Horde. Xazrog now had a whole host of robotic Troopers at his command, along with numerous powerful machines and vehicles, exceeding that within the City of Lights. Technological chaos ensued with Xazrog’s attack, until the City of Lights was engulfed by a massive explosion, destroying most of its buildings and machinery, as well as many of the warlords themselves. The Ergon was lost in the explosion, and Nycroft fled the city.

With most of the warlords now defeated, things were made much easier for Xazrog and the Horde, as now they had only Randor’s forces to worry about. And while Randor’s forces were strong and possessed much magic and technology of their own, they could not maintain their strength against the Horde for long and would undoubtedly be defeated soon. Keldor struck a deal with Xazrog that he would rule from the throne of Eternos while Xazrog sought out Castle Grayskull, which would be all Xazrog’s once it was found. But while he feigned disinterest in Grayskull, Keldor knew that once the great castle was uncovered, he would rise above Xazrog and take it for himself. Xazrog continued to conquer numerous kingdoms across the planet, and it looked as though Eternia was about to collapse under the rule of evil for the first time in centuries.

Randor kept calm on the exterior, but inside, was fraught with concern over the planet’s future. Amidst all the chaos he was already causing, Xazrog was sure to bring the dreaded Prime himself into the battle before long- what kind of destruction could result at the intervention of the God? Recalling the legends of the Ancients, Randor knew there was only one hope for Eternia- Castle Grayskull. But Grayskull had long since vanished into the realms of legend, and no-one knew of its whereabouts- for all they knew, it may no longer be standing.

But as the battle raged across Eternia, a courageous young peasant girl, from a small village in one of Xazrog’s kingdoms, took it upon herself to find the ancient fortress of mystery and power. Her name was Teelina. Shortly before the Great Unrest began, Teelina had married a great soldier, who had left home to fight in the war. Since he had left, she had given birth to a daughter, whom she named Teela, but had been unable to tell her husband the good news while he was away fighting. Teelina was subject to daily torture at the hands of the Horde, to the point where she would endure it no longer, and decided that she must take action herself to put a stop to this mayhem. She recalled the ancient legends of the great battles of the Elders of Eternia and the power of Grayskull, which had defeated the Horde when they had last invaded Eternia, thousands of centuries ago. She knew that Castle Grayskull could be Eternia’s only hope. So she bade farewell to the people of her village, and set out, with Teela, into the great wide open, to find the fortress with the power to save Eternia.

Teelina’s journey was long and difficult, for no-one knew the whereabouts of Grayskull, it was not marked on any map, and many people believed it was nothing more than a legend. She had to stop from time to time in towns and cities, and beg for money on the streets. She had to sleep rough night after night, except on the occasional fortuitous evening on which a hotel owner would allow her to sleep for free in his lodgings. All that kept her alive throughout this time was her anger at what Xazrog’s forces were doing to her world, along with her determination to save her daughter, her husband, and her planet.
After weeks of traveling without finding Castle Grayskull, she began to wonder if she would ever locate the castle… but she could not simply give in. She kept on traveling, until one day… when she met a strange old man.
She came across this man purely by accident, when traveling across a long, rocky path. The elderly man, dressed in brown robes and carrying a wooden stick, stopped her and asked where she was heading. She told him her destination, and the reasons for her determination to find Grayskull. And barely had she spoken… when the man told her the exact directions to Grayskull, and wished her luck, before going his separate way. Even to this day, Teelina does not know who the man was… but she could not be more thankful to him, as when she followed his directions, she found herself staring up at the wondrous, striking and colossal structure of Castle Grayskull.
Now she was faced with the problem of entering the castle. Was it even possible, with the Jaw Bridge raised so high, and the path blocked by the huge and deep abyss? Her journey would be even more tragic if she were to find she had traveled all this way only to find there was no entry into the castle.
But she did not worry for long- as all of a sudden, a gentle and friendly female voice emitted from somewhere within the castle. It assured her that her journey had not been in vain, and welcomed her inside. Then, for the first time in centuries, the Jaw Bridge lowered, opening the way inside. The voice then warned Teelina that if she were to enter Castle Grayskull, she may never be the same again. At first she hesitated, but then she realized she did not want to be the same again- she wanted to be free from poverty and war. Carrying Teela in her arms, she walked over the Jaw Bridge and inside the great castle.
She entered the throne room of the castle, where she saw a middle-aged woman sitting atop the throne, dressed in a falcon headdress, with wings attached to her back. The woman told her that her name was Kodak Ungor, and she was a descendant of the Elders of Eternia, the mantle of Sorceress of Grayskull having been passed down her family for generations. She explained that she was aware of the chaos spreading throughout Eternia, and was ready to take action. But she had been the guardian of the castle for many years, and her duty as Sorceress had almost expired. It was time for her to find a successor to bring the power of Grayskull into the war against the Horde. She felt that the ideal person to succeed her as Sorceress was none other than Teelina herself.

Teelina had proven her bravery, strength and dedication to goodness through the enormous effort she had undertaken for the sake of finding the castle to save her world. She was a true heroine. Kodak Ungor offered her the position of Sorceress of Grayskull- but warned her that if she were to take the role, she would be consigned to remaining in solitude in the castle to permanently guard its secrets and powers, and would thus be alienated from mortal life. Teelina accepted the offer nevertheless- she would stop at no lengths to save Eternia.
So Kodak Ungor took Teela from her and laid her by the steps of the throne- then she called upon the Elders of Eternia. Their spirits appeared, surrounding Teelina, in the center of the throne room. Keclar and his accomplices combined their magic powers, and forced them upon Teelina. Her mind was filled with all the sacred knowledge of Grayskull… and when the Elders had finished, Teelina emerged from the circle in the form of a falcon. This was Zoar, the falcon of force, the form which Teelina would use to scout Eternia.
She spread out her wings, and transformed back to Teelina- and then Kodak Ungor cast a spell, and the falcon costume vanished from her body and onto Teelina’s. Teelina had never felt so strong before. Kodak told her that she was now the most powerful being on all Eternia, and her magic would enable her to remain eternally young- she could appear as old or as young as she wanted to.
Immediately after becoming Sorceress, Teelina prepared to mobilize the power of Grayskull to aid Randor and his soldiers in their battles against the Horde. She traveled to Eternos City, where she revealed herself to King Randor, and declared her alliance to himself and his forces. Together, Randor and The Sorceress used their combined powers against Xazrog’s forces in battle, and achieved a strong victory, taking many of the evil soldiers prisoner. The power of Grayskull had provided an enormous boost to the forces of good, and they were now almost evenly matched against the Horde.

However, shortly afterwards, The Sorceress received the news that her husband had been killed in the war, at the hands of Xazrog’s forces. This saddened her greatly, for not only would she never be reunited with her husband, but he had died without ever having known of the birth of their daughter. The Sorceress knew she could not look after Teela on her own when she had the responsibility of guarding Grayskull, so she gave Teela to Duncan, the royal Man-At-Arms, to raise as his own daughter. She had heard of Duncan long before her husband had left her to fight in the war, as her husband himself had trained alongside him, and brought back tales of Duncan’s nobility and goodness. Whilst fighting alongside Duncan herself, she had quickly developed a strong bond of friendship with him, and grown to respect him as highly as her husband had. He was the ideal man to raise her daughter.

The Horde had suffered a massive setback with the intervention of The Sorceress in the war, and Randor’s forces were finally given a breathing space. Randor took this opportunity to marry his great scientist and warrior, Marlena. In the midst of the battles, the two had fallen in love, and Marlena was now pregnant. This brief period of relative calm was the perfect time for them to marry, so they could fulfill their bond before the Horde had the chance to defeat them.

But unbeknownst to the forces of good, an even greater evil was already brewing on Eternia. It was during this brief period of calm that this evil came into full force. And this great evil concerned none other than Teelina’s husband… who was not dead at all. In fact, something far more sinister had happened to him.

During the time of Teelina’s marriage, there were many things she had not known about her husband. To explain the reasons for what he became, we must delve back twenty-five years before the Great Unrest began. Teelina’s husband was a man named Zendar; a descendant of Zendar the Unholy, leader of the Nocturnals. For centuries, ever since their temple had been built on the Desert of Desolation, the descendants of Zendar the Unholy had been concentrating on absorbing all the dark matter around them and within the universe, concentrating it into their bloodstream as they bred down the centuries. The very essence of darkness had passed down through the generations within their bloodstream… until it finally culminated in the ultimate being of destruction whom the Nocturnals had envisioned all those centuries ago. The birth of Zendar immediately wracked the Temple with an explosion, killing many of the disciples within. After all these centuries, the Lord of Destruction had arrived.

The power was so strong that even Zendar’s own parents’ energy had been severely weakened. His mother died in a fit of ecstasy shortly afterwards, relieved at her triumph. His father aged rapidly, and despite being in his mid-thirties, his body degenerated to the extent that he gained the appearance of a man in his nineties. But he was satisfied nevertheless, for he had achieved the aim of his ancestors; the creation of the ultimate being of destruction who would bring about the downfall of the entire universe.

He brought up the newborn Zendar in a cryptic manner. He allowed Zendar to live independently, despite his young age, giving him only cryptic guidelines to influence his path through life. But Zendar was already imbued with immense intelligence and power, and learned quicker than a normal child. Zendar’s father died when Zendar was only five, and his last words to the young Zendar were, “Destruction is your essence… set out to achieve it- Lord of Destruction.”

Zendar was left to fend for himself in the world. But in spite of his age and size… he somehow managed it. As he reached adulthood, he knew that he possessed tremendous power. He delved deep into studies of ancient Eternia, of the cult of the Nocturnals which had brought about his existence, the philosophy of his ancestors, and their wars against the Council of the Wise, from which was born the power of Grayskull. He realized that he had been born to usurp the power of Grayskull himself.

He practiced the arts of dark magic, and quickly excelled in this skill, having been naturally imbued from birth with incredible magical powers. But he kept this ability entirely withheld from those around him. He felt he must carry out his goal of destruction in silence. So he posed as an ordinary Eternian, trained as a warrior in the King’s court, and seduced numerous people into respecting him, before leaving immense destruction in his path. He trained alongside Man-At-Arms, and deceived the noble young soldier into believing that he was an honest and dignified warrior. It was shortly after his recruitment into the ranks of Randor’s guardsmen that Zendar met Teelina, as his travels led him through her village.

He was somehow drawn towards Teelina by a natural, unspecified force. He seduced the young, honorable girl into falling in love with him, using his immense skill and ability to perpetuate an entirely false act which deceived the people of her village into regarding him as a noble warrior. When the Great Unrest struck, Zendar left home to fight in the war, and was soon in combat with many of Xazrog’s forces.

Zendar used the war to further solidify his act. He made his way closer to immense destruction by killing his fellow soldiers as they slept within their camp. When the morning rose and the bodies were found, he would claim that Xazrog’s forces had attacked them overnight, and he had fended them off, the only soldier to remain alive. People would believe his tales, and he was praised as a hero for his attempts to defend the deceased soldiers, when in fact he was himself the killer.

Then, one day he heard that Randor’s forces had been joined by The Sorceress of Grayskull, bringing the power of the Elders into the battle. But as he bore witness to the conflict between The Sorceress and the Horde, he was horrified when he realized that The Sorceress of Grayskull was none other than his own wife. Enquiring among the other soldiers as to The Sorceress’ origins, he learned the story of Teelina’s ascension to the throne of Grayskull. Now he realized why he had been drawn towards her… but he was furious that the power he most desired had, within his absence from the village, been bestowed on his own wife, a mere woman.

While The Sorceress was engaged in a battle with the Horde alongside Randor’s soldiers, Zendar took the opportunity to travel to Grayskull. His plan was to surprise Teelina with his presence upon her return, and convince her to grant him the position of Grayskull’s defender. Then he would spring an attack on her, reveal his own powers and absorb her magic for himself. But as he ventured towards Grayskull, the eyes of the castle began to glow, and a fiery energy began to rage from within its walls, sensing he was an enemy, and ready to oppose him. Zendar realized that he could not enter Grayskull without exposing his secret, and he would be no match on his own for Grayskull’s power. He would have to resort to alternative measures to challenge his wife for Grayskull’s throne. The time had finally come for him to defect from Randor’s forces, and pledge his services instead to the Horde.

As the period of calm spread over Eternos, Zendar journeyed to the Black Continent. His studies of Ancient Eternia enabled him to find the exact location of Snake Mountain, where he pledged his services to Xazrog as a warrior. Accepted into the ranks of Xazrog’s forces as a regular soldier, Zendar proceeded to shock his new companions with the revelation of his magic powers. Keldor was particularly impressed by the great power possessed by this man who seemed a mere mortal, and Zendar convinced Keldor to employ him as his apprentice and train him further in the art of dark magic.

Zendar did not tell Keldor his true origins. He simply pretended he was an ordinary man who had studied the art of dark magic in secret. Keldor identified closely with the young sorcerer, as it seemed they shared many similar ideas and philosophies. The two of them began to spend many hours alone in the depths of Snake Mountain, practising their magic together.

But Zendar’s true desire was to destroy Keldor, so that he may replace him as Xazrog’s prime sorcerer. Keldor’s incredible power could all too easily be a threat to Zendar’s own, so by feigning loyalty and respect towards Keldor, Zendar plotted to bring about Keldor’s demise so that he may be the prime force of magic in the war against The Sorceress.

He seized his chance on one dark night, as Keldor trained him in his chamber. Keldor had set up a stone structure against the wall, on which Zendar was practicing his directional aim, firing beams of magic at it. Zendar repeatedly shot bolts at the structure, blasting holes in it each time. But then, he suddenly turned away from the structure… and fired a surge of power at Keldor himself.

Keldor stumbled back in shock. "What did you do that for?" he asked.

"Your time is finished, Keldor." Zendar replied. "You may be a great sorcerer, but I desire to be greater. Yet you will never train me to become more powerful than you. As long as you are here, you will remain an obstacle in my way. So now I am powerful enough, I must destroy you before you can beat me to the throne of Grayskull!"

"So, you are a traitor!" exclaimed Keldor. "Well, you’re also a fool if you think you can destroy me. You’re right that I would never train you to be as powerful as myself- for I am far more powerful, and so it shall be I who destroys you!" With that, he shot a long stream of bright red and green light from his hands. Zendar was engulfed in the glow, and was struck still, almost unable to move.

"Try to combat that!" shrieked Keldor.

Zendar managed to reach out his arm and fire a bolt of magical energy, but it was quickly dissolved by Keldor’s power. Zendar realized he had struck too quickly. He was not yet as powerful as Keldor, who was now able to destroy him with ease. He should have bided his time before striking at Keldor.
Keldor whooshed his arms through the air, and the glow around Zendar vanished.

"Have you learned your lesson now, Zendar?" he said. "There is no hope for you to successfully challenge my own great powers. If you accept that, then we may continue training as normal. If you continue to believe otherwise… then prepare to meet your doom!"

But Zendar was not giving in. "You fool!" he shouted. "You will only attempt to destroy me anyway, now you know of my true desires. So the time for our final battle is… right now!"

He threw out his right arm, and a beam of bright green light went flying at Keldor through the air. He was so quick that the beam hit Keldor in the chest….. and it began to spread. It was about to engulf his whole body… and it would undoubtedly cause horrific damage.

"There is no hope for you now, Keldor!" laughed Zendar. "The least harmful thing that beam will do will be to deform your entire body!"

"Once again, you underestimate my power, fool!" said Keldor- and he encased his hands round his chest. The beam dissolved, into thin air. Zendar tried firing again, but this time Keldor held out his hand, and absorbed the beam- then combined it with his own powers. His hand was soon aflame with crackling magical energy. When the energy reached extremes, Keldor released it from his body, and it went flying through the air, hitting Zendar with a huge explosion, coursing through his entire body!

Zendar screamed in agony as his body convulsed with dark magic. When the explosion died down, Zendar stood upright for several seconds, feeling unharmed. Then, all of a sudden, his body began to shake. He felt it filling with pain, and jerked back. He looked down at his hands, and noticed that they were losing color as the flesh faded…

"Wh… what is h-happening to m-me…?" he stammered.

Then he gave a cry of pain, and spread out his whole body, writhing in agony. The pigmentation faded from his skin, leaving only a strange and cold shade of blue, then the skin over his face seemed to tear. There was a fierce ripping sound, and bit by bit, his facial skin began to flake away. It shriveled and dried, before tearing off violently; his hair sprouted from his scalp and fell to the ground in clumps. His ears and nose ripped off from his skull, then his eyes began to change color, glowing bright red as they sank into their sockets….. the last strands of flesh fell from his skull, exposing his whole cranium, white and gruesome, his red eyes shining out brightly from the black eye sockets.

Keldor gazed in horror at the hideously transformed Zendar. His whole appearance had been distorted beyond recognition. He was now the most hideous apparition of a man that Keldor had ever seen.

Zendar gazed into the magic pool, at the hideous reflection of his gruesomely altered self. For a second, he flinched back in terror….. before he realized the potential that his new face had of striking terror into the heart of anyone who saw it. He looked up at the shocked form of Keldor, and laughed.

"So, Keldor, you great sorcerer. You try to destroy me and end up making me a hundred times more terrifying than your feeble self. And I feel so much stronger! So much more powerful! And you… you no longer deserve to spend another moment on this planet!" He shot bolts of power from his red eyes, striking Keldor and forcing him back against the rocky wall.

Keldor screamed in terror. "No, Zendar, set me free!" Zendar just laughed maniacally, then he charged forth at Keldor, and released a burst of magic power with one whoosh of his hands. The whole room was filled with magical energy, and Zendar shielded his eyes….. then he heard Keldor’s scream, and when the power died down, he saw Keldor’s form fading from sight altogether.
Once Keldor was gone, Zendar looked into the pool of magic, and swirled his long, bony fingers through the water. The image in the pool changed, and he saw Keldor drifting through space and time to another dimension….. a timeless dimension, with barely a soul to be seen. And there Keldor would remain, stranded in time, his memory erased entirely.

Zendar turned from the pool. Now to reveal his changed self to Xazrog. Xazrog’s forces would be even more feared with a being of this appearance on their side! He climbed up to Xazrog’s chamber, forced the door open, and stepped into the dark chamber.

"Who dares enter my chamber?" called Xazrog.

"It is I….."

"You, Zendar? What have you to say….."

"Zendar no longer exists….. I… am….. SKELETOR!"

He thrust his hideous face through the darkness and into Xazrog’s. Xazrog jumped to his feet in shock.

"Zendar….. this is you? What has changed you this way?"

"The magic of Keldor… but Keldor is no longer with us….."

Skeletor explained the whole incident to Xazrog. Then Xazrog erupted into maniacal laughter at the harrowing story, and said "Together, ‘Skeletor’, we will destroy the King’s forces, and rule this planet! Now King Randor has no chance….. and we will not only rule Eternia, but the whole universe! With the secrets of Grayskull in our hands- we shall become the Masters of the Universe!"

And Xazrog issued the false news that Zendar was dead….. and to explain Keldor’s disappearance, he told Eternia that Keldor’s magical practices had rendered him lost in dimensions beyond time. Then, with the mysterious Skeletor on his side, Xazrog increased the terror on Eternia by the millions. Many innocent people fell victim to his forces….. and Eternia became a planet consumed by massacre. The brief period of calm had been shattered more severely than anyone would have dared imagine, with the sudden appearance of the terrifying and mysterious Skeletor.

Although no-one knew who Skeletor was or where he had come from, he proved to be the most deadly addition to Xazrog’s forces yet. The attacks on Grayskull became frequent, and increased in severity each time. The Sorceress began to wonder if the time had finally come to select the mortal who would receive the Sword of Power and become He-Man, the long-prophesized defender of Eternia. But as Randor’s forces increased in size, and the magic of Grayskull expanded with The Sorceress’ powers, the forces of good proved strong enough to effectively combat the Horde’s evil, and Randor’s soldiers, under the leadership of Man-At-Arms, managed to free more and more kingdoms from the Horde rule. Eventually, Xazrog decided that drastic action must be taken, so he summoned his master, the god Horde Prime, to intervene in the war and finish off the Eternians.

Horde Prime launched a huge attack against Eternia, harnessing the forces of darkness to inflict a meteor shower on the whole planet. Millions of people were killed and cities destroyed as the meteors impacted upon Eternia. But Grayskull stood firmly intact, as if untouched, and as Mesmerus used his magic to form a protective shield around Eternos City (using up so much energy that he died immediately after the battle), Randor and Man-At-Arms led the Royal army to Grayskull, to battle the Horde’s invasion. During the battle, Skeletor attempted to betray Xazrog by using his magic to divert the path of the meteors, so that they headed towards Xazrog himself. Xazrog was pounded by the meteors as Skeletor led the Horde into the fight. The final battle was tremendous and planet-shattering, but in the end, the power of Grayskull, under control of The Sorceress, succeeded in banishing Prime from Eternia once again, as Xazrog’s forces were scattered like flies.

Once Prime was banished, and the meteor shower was over, Xazrog and Skeletor were left severely injured- particularly Xazrog, who had suffered immense injuries in his limbs following the meteor shower. His face had also been disfigured beyond recognition, now a hideous, fleshy mess. Xazrog and Skeletor were taken to the royal dungeons as Randor’s soldiers cleared up the debris from the war, and tended to the injured.

Xazrog was furious with Skeletor for having betrayed him, and deformed his body in the process. But within the cells of the Royal Palace, they realized they must continue to work together for the time being, to make their escape. The palace dungeons were not strong enough to hold the combined power of these great warlords, and they had no difficulty in escaping. Together, they concocted an evil plan for revenge against King Randor, before they made their escape from Eternia. Several months ago, Queen Marlena had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, whom she had named Adam and Adora. Xazrog and Skeletor decided that they would steal both the Queen’s babies in revenge, and raise them to follow their own ways of darkness.

So they broke into the infantry, and Xazrog lifted Adora from her cradle. Skeletor was just about to take Adam, when Man-At-Arms entered the room, having overheard them breaking in. He knocked Skeletor back before he could lift Adam, then Queen Marlena rushed in and threw a punch at Xazrog. But Xazrog quickly escaped through the window, and fled. Man-At-Arms, pinning Skeletor to the ground, forced Skeletor to tell him the way to Hordak’s base. Non-hesitantly, Skeletor consented- he hoped that the King’s soldiers would catch Xazrog, so that he would have the opportunity to rise above him. The guards rushed through and escorted Skeletor back to the dungeon, while Man-At-Arms, Randor and Marlena summoned The Sorceress to their aid and fled after Xazrog.

Eventually, they reached Snake Mountain following Skeletor’s directions, but they were too late- Xazrog escaped into a time portal with Adora before they could catch him. The saviors of the war returned to Eternos with a great sadness undermining their victory- they had saved their planet, but had lost their newborn Princess. Skeletor, in the meantime, had escaped- he had killed the guards before they could re-imprison him, then teleported away. No-one knew where he had gone, but he seemed to have vanished altogether.

The Sorceress returned to Grayskull to guard the castle in solitude. Man-At-Arms raised Teela as his own daughter, and trained her as a warrior. She was brought up alongside Randor’s son, Adam, and the two of them became like brother and sister. But Randor was stricken with grief and frustration, at having lost three of his relatives to mysterious circumstances during the Great Unrest- first his father Miro, then his brother Keldor, then his daughter Adora. Although he ruled Eternia with great dignity, he spent many moments alone in quiet despair over what he had suffered, determined to some day find the whereabouts of his missing relations.

Xazrog, meanwhile, escaped back to the intergalactic lair of his master, Horde Prime. Although Prime was furious that he was still no match for the power of Grayskull even after all these centuries, he was impressed with Xazrog’s achievements during the war. Not only had Xazrog emerged from the war alive, but he had succeeded in kidnapping the King’s daughter. It was time to send Xazrog to conquer a new world- but first, his injuries and disfigured appearance must be repaired.

Prime ordered his scientists to operate on both Xazrog and Adora, and simultaneously the two of them were taken to separate operating rooms aboard Prime’s ship, the Velvet Glove. Prime’s scientists repaired Xazrog’s damaged limbs with cybernetic attachments. Xazrog’s arms could now both be converted into cannons via the fuel of his inner magic. He could also use this combination of magic and cybernetics to convert himself into the form of a rocket. His disfigured face, meanwhile, was rebuilt via metal attachments, the fleshy mess replaced with a white metal facial structure, with sharp teeth and blazing electronic red eyes. Xazrog awoke from the experiment as the ultimate Horde warrior- Hordak.

Once he emerged from the operating chamber, Hordak was presented with Adora, whom Prime’s scientists had also operated on, injecting fluids into her head which had solidified into metal cybernetic implants which would imbue her with a thirst for blood and destruction. Hordak would raise her as a warrior, and she would inevitably become the ultimate killing machine once she had reached adulthood.

Now Hordak was ready for his next conquest. Prime assigned Hordak to conquer the world of Etheria. As Eternia’s sister planet, Prime felt Etheria had remained peaceful for far too long. It was still a highly primitive world, with little technology, thriving mostly on agriculture. War and destruction were almost alien concepts to the people of Etheria- yet Prime was convinced that the planet possessed some portion of the Eternian Elders’ power, and a conquest of this world would surely bring the Horde one step closer to their ultimate goal of Eternia. Etheria was the perfect world for the Horde to conquer next.

Hordak was beamed down to Etheria, with Adora, and a fleet of Horde Troopers. He took residence on the barren Northern Plains of Etheria, the once fertile area torn apart by General Rattlor and Tung Lashor after their brief invasion of Etheria centuries ago. Hordak renamed this area the Fright Zone, after Prime’s old base on Eternia, and programmed his robotic Troopers to construct a mighty fortress for him in the center of the barren land. There they constructed the immense industrial complex named Doom Tower- a base of supreme technology, from which Hordak began to conduct his invasions of Etheria.

Hordak’s invasions were swift and easy. The Etherians were inexperienced with war and technology, and so the sudden Horde invasions came as a great shock to them. They had neither the strength nor the resources to adequately counter the Horde, and one by one, the kingdoms on Etheria fell to the Horde, almost daily. Hordak’s forces greatly expanded as he sought out the members of Etheria’s more dangerous species, and recruited a gang of thugs to serve as his brute force. But Hordak’s most powerful acquaintance was a young and beautiful sorceress named Light Spinner, who was led astray by the temptation of Hordak’s powers of darkness, and by absorbing the dark forces, changed into Shadow Weaver, mistress of dark magic. She became Hordak’s second-in-command, and assisted him in his conquest of Etheria.

There was only one kingdom on Etheria that proved resistant to the Horde’s attacks- the kingdom of Bright Moon, ruled by Queen Celestia, an extraterrestrial sorceress with amazing power. She was the most powerful of the heroic sorceresses on Etheria, and her kingdom was home to the planet’s only heroic scientists and its greatest warriors. Celestia continued to successfully fend off the Horde invasions, until one fateful day when she fell victim to the combined forces of Hordak and Shadow Weaver, and collapsed dead. Her daughter, Princess Angella, a starchild who had inherited her mother’s mystic powers, immediately mobilized her warriors and set out to avenge her mother’s death. She became Queen in her place, and married her strongest warrior, Micah. But although they proved strongly resistant to the Horde’s attacks, they were nowhere near powerful enough to overthrow them, and both Queen Angella and King Micah were soon captured by the Horde.

Angella was held captive for ten years by Hunga the Harpy, an ally of the Horde. She was saved eventually by her teenage daughter, Princess Glimmer, who teamed up with a great scientist, Carlos, to free Angella. Upon Angella’s return, Bright Moon was freed from the Horde once more, but Hordak retained a strong grip on the planet, and mass poverty and slavery consumed Etheria. To free their planet from this evil dictatorship, Glimmer and Carlos set about establishing the Great Rebellion, mobilizing the peasants of Etheria to rise up against the Horde in an effort to overthrow them.

Back on Eternia, life had been peaceful since the defeat of the Horde. King Randor and Queen Marlena ruled over the planet with great peace, and Eternia returned to its state of bliss and tranquility from before the war, with Randor and Marlena rarely ever having to resume their old warrior roles. Their son, Prince Adam, had grown up alongside Man-At-Arms’ adopted daughter, Teela. Adam was highly intelligent, with a yearning for adventure and excitement, but was also often overly exuberant and loved to play practical jokes on people, which caused King Randor to worry about him and fear that his seemed lack of responsibility was inadequate for the heir to the throne. Teela, meanwhile, although unaware of her true heritage, became extremely dedicated to her warrior training. By her teens, she had achieved an amazing level of athleticism and agility, as well as becoming highly intelligent and headstrong. She amazed many people with her astounding battle skills, and was so skilled that she was presented with the rank of Captain of the Guards at the age of only eighteen, the first ever woman to hold the role. Although she and Adam had grown up like brother and sister, and had a strong bond with one another, Teela often grew frustrated with Adam’s apparent laziness and fooling around, and they developed a kind of love-hate relationship as they reached adulthood.

But although Eternia was in peace for the time being, elsewhere in the universe, the great Skeletor was working towards his long-term goal- the ultimate assault on Eternia and Castle Grayskull. When he had teleported himself away from Randor’s dungeons after the Horde’s defeat, he had fled to the world of Infinita, the dark world established centuries ago by the cult of the Nocturnals. As the Nocturnals had brought about his own existence, it made sense for him to retreat to the planet colonized by his ancestors to develop his powers. Infinita was almost exactly what Skeletor hoped Eternia would become under his rule. He spent eighteen years on Infinita, exploring his potential and developing his powers, to fully merit the title of Lord of Destruction.

Although he had once been a handsome young man, Skeletor felt far more himself in this demonic form, which had resulted from his duel with Keldor. It was as if this had been his true self all along, and Keldor’s magic had actually unleashed his inner soul, rather than merely disfiguring his body. Wherever he went, even in a world as festering with evil creatures as Infinita, he seemed to strike terror into all who saw him. It seemed as if he were the embodiment of pure evil.

Eventually, the whole of Infinita came to live in fear of Skeletor, and he ruled over many sectors of this world. He was commended by the planet’s demonic emperor, Dagon, as one of the greatest and most powerful beings ever to walk upon Infinita. Infinita felt like a true home to Skeletor- it had, after all, been partially established by his own ancestors. But he knew he could not remain on this world- for his true goal was Castle Grayskull, and his black heart was firmly set on challenging The Sorceress for the power of the universe. After these eighteen years, his power had expanded to such extremes that he had become one of the most feared beings in the cosmos, possessing incredible power that far exceeded that of his former mentor, Xazrog. The time had finally come for him to return to Eternia and usurp the power that he felt rightfully belonged to him.

The Sorceress was warned of Skeletor’s return by a terrifying nightmare. In her dream, she saw red eyes shining through extreme blackness, and the faces of gruesome snakes and demons zooming towards her vision, hissing and spitting blood. A huge green snake then came writhing towards her, with glowing red eyes, emitting a terrible screeching sound from its mouth. It formed itself into a coil shape, and a mountain appeared within the coil, then the snake set in stone, forming the image of Snake Mountain. The sound of thunder roared deafeningly, and the image of Skeletor’s face, eyes glowing intensely, came zooming rapidly out of the mountain, emitting a deafening evil laugh as his face zoomed towards The Sorceress…..

Then she woke with a start. She had instantly recognized the face in her dream. She went over to the castle window, and looked outside. The thunder was roaring, the lightning cracking through the sky, jagged white bolts illuminating the skyline. This was no ordinary thunderstorm. It was a sign of a dreadful threat coming to Eternia. And The Sorceress knew that unless she did something fast, all would be lost. She did not want to inflict panic on Eternia by telling the whole planet- so she flew to the Royal Palace and warned Man-At-Arms, the man she trusted most in all Eternia. When she told him about the dream she had had, his face went pale with shock. He could sense the evil that was coming.

In turn, Man-At-Arms warned King Randor and Queen Marlena of The Sorceress’ premonition, and Randor instructed Teela to mobilize the palace guards for the event of possible attack. Later that day, the attack came… in a more terrifying form than they had imagined. Skeletor had harnessed the powers of the great evil spirits of the Black Continent to inflict the powers of the storm on Eternos. As the storm erupted, he attacked the city with four hired warriors at his side- the savage commanders of wildlife, Beast Man and Merman, and criminal escapees Trap Jaw and Tri-Clops. Skeletor’s powers were so immense that he cut through the palace guards in no time, entered the palace, and had Randor and Marlena both captured within fields of crackling magic energy. The Sorceress intervened, but after a brief battle, even she was overcome by Skeletor’s incredible dark powers. She barely managed to escape, teleporting herself back to Grayskull, instructing Man-At-Arms that he must follow her there… with Prince Adam at his side.

Man-At-Arms was confused by her instruction, but did as she had asked, and traveled to Castle Grayskull with Prince Adam, distressed by his parents’ capture. Once they had reached Grayskull, The Sorceress appeared at the entrance, and asked that Adam enter the castle alone. Confused, the Prince crossed the Jaw Bridge, and entered the great castle.

Within the depths of Grayskull, The Sorceress explained to the young Prince that Eternia had sunk into its most dire situation in thousands of centuries. Since his initial retreat from Eternia eighteen years ago, Skeletor’s powers had grown to an amazing level- to the extent that even without an army, he was already close to conquering Eternia, and at this rate, he would seize Grayskull in no time. He was the greatest evil Eternia had faced yet… and this was truly Eternia’s darkest day. And as the ancient prophecy had foretold, on Eternia’s darkest day, a hero would be selected from the ordinary mortals of Eternia and presented with the Sword of Power, which would duplicate the power of Grayskull within him, enabling him to defend Eternia as the embodiment of heroic power. That hero, she explained, was none other than Adam.

Adam was taken aback- for despite his intelligence and bravery, he was not yet a warrior, and he was constantly the subject of criticism by his father for his supposed cowardice. The Sorceress explained that Adam was simply a misunderstood young man, and that he possessed the courage, wisdom and sense of justice that was perfect for the defender of Eternia. And given that his true bravery had remained largely concealed from those around him, no-one would ever suspect that he and Eternia’s hero were one and the same. It was time now for the ancient prophecy to be fulfilled.

The room was filled with an immense, glowing light, and out stepped the Elders of Eternia, led by Keclar. Keclar presented Adam with the Sword of Power, then the Elders formed a circle around Adam. They raised their arms, and began chanting a spell in an ancient Eternian language. The room was filled with stars and all kinds of strange symbols floating in the light. The images surrounded Adam, and the wisdom of the universe began to fill his mind.

Wisdom and knowledge poured into Adam’s mind by the thousands each moment. The magic symbols increased, and bright lights of all colors filled the room, whirring faster and faster around Prince Adam. The Elders kept their arms raised, spreading their power throughout the room. Magical coils whizzed around Prince Adam at an incredible speed.
The light vanished abruptly, and Adam was left standing alone in the center of the stone circle, the Sword of Power placed in his right hand.
Adam didn’t need an explanation. He knew just what to do. He held the sword above his head, and shouted:

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL….
I HAVE THE POWER!!!!!"

A huge burst of energy erupted from the blade of the sword, and surrounded Adam’s whole body. Then came a flash of light, shielding Adam’s form from view! The flash died down, revealing Adam once again… but now, he looked very different. Gone was the form of the thin, smart young prince, and in its place was the form of a mighty warrior, with powerful, rippling muscles. He was six feet six inches tall, with blond, shoulder length hair, almost golden in color, and a heavy tan over his body. He still bore a very vague physical resemblance to the Prince, but his great muscle mass and height made him appear a totally different person. Over his chest he wore a metal harness, with a red cross in the center.

He was now He-Man, defender and champion of Eternia! In his new form, he was taken out to see Man-At-Arms, who was amazed to be told that this mighty warrior with the gleaming sword was none other than Prince Adam. The Sorceress explained that he would be able to change from Adam to He-Man whenever danger threatened. But no-one besides Man-At-Arms and one other trustworthy person, whom He-Man must select, would be allowed to know that the two were one and the same. For if the secret was to become too widespread, it would quickly fall into enemy hands and endanger the Royal Family. So He-Man’s double identity must be kept secret- even from his closest friends.

He-Man thanked The Sorceress, then he and Man-At-Arms began making their way back to Eternos City, to free the palace from Skeletor.
When they reached the palace, He-Man sprang a surprise on Skeletor just as he was attempting to enslave the palace guards. The evil warlord and his minions were amazed at the strength of this fighter, who smashed each of them across the room with just one blow. Teela, King Randor and Queen Marlena watched in amazement as this mighty hero fought the evil warriors with colossal strength. Eventually, Skeletor realized that he and his warriors stood no chance against this great fighter, and so he ordered them to retreat.

The King and Queen congratulated He-Man on his victory, and He-Man vowed that he would be around to help them whenever danger threatened. Inside, he was yearning to tell them he was their son- but he could only tell one other person his secret, and he had decided that other person should be none other than the girl he had grown up with, and loved the most- Teela.
After He-Man’s victory, he quickly became the talk of the place around the city. Denizens were ecstatic that this amazing hero had come to defend them in their very hour of need.

But on the Black Continent, as Skeletor and his minions returned to Snake Mountain, they felt the total opposite of the people in Eternos. Skeletor was furious that a champion this mighty should arrive just as he was about to conquer Eternia. He had never expected to encounter a foe of such incredible power. This He-Man seemed to be Skeletor’s strongest possible match- a single being with the power and goodness to rival his own immense evil power. He was almost an embodiment of true goodness in the way that Skeletor had become an embodiment of evil.

Immediately, Skeletor set about training his minions for an assault on Grayskull. Alongside the four warriors he had hired, during his assault on Eternos he had been pledged the services of one of the palace’s maidservants, a beautiful and elegant young woman named Evelyn Powers. Evelyn was a close friend of Queen Marlena, who had possessed a strong lust for Prince Adam. For some time, a bitter rivalry had been brewing between Evelyn and Teela, who made Evelyn jealous through her closeness to the Prince. Evelyn had turned against the Queen when she had refused to let her marry Prince Adam, and she now desired vengeance on Marlena. Now using the name Evil-Lyn, she joined forces with Skeletor, who began to train her as a sorceress. Within days, Evil-Lyn showed incredible ability at mastering the powers of darkness, and was easily seduced by Skeletor’s desire for power… a power that the two of them would soon share.

The following morning, Skeletor and the evil warriors teleported to Castle Grayskull, where Skeletor could finally confront The Sorceress and drain her power. The Sorceress instantly sensed their presence, and began to fight back with her magic- but she was stunned by a beam of energy, thrown by the joint powers of Skeletor and Evil-Lyn. She stumbled to the ground, but quickly used her mind power to summon Prince Adam, so he could change to He-Man and come to her aid.

When Adam heard her voice calling him, he quickly warned Man-At-Arms, then he rushed to his room, to change to He-Man. But unfortunately, as he changed, he forgot to make sure no-one was watching…..

And as he changed, the King’s court jester, Orko, floated into the room. Orko was a strange little alien magician from the planet Trolla, who had been stranded on Eternia several years before and had been employed as court jester, even though his tricks usually went wrong due to his power being unaccustomed to this world.

Orko saw Adam transforming into He-Man- but so did Cringer, Prince Adam’s pet tiger- who was scared of everything, even his own shadow, and who tried to follow the Prince everywhere he went. He walked into the room at the same time as Orko. He-Man, annoyed with himself at having blown his secret on only his second transformation, explained to Orko the powers he had been given, and made him swear to secrecy. Orko promised he would keep quiet, although He-Man was rather weary of trusting the alien magician, since he often let things slip by mistake.

Cringer was cowering into a corner as he looked up at the form of He-Man. He-Man bent towards him and tried to calm him down… but as he did so, a bolt of power shot from his sword without warning, and struck Cringer! Cringer began to grow in size… then a dark red armor saddle and helmet appeared over his body. He was no longer the weak and timid Cringer… now he was a ferocious warrior tiger!

He-Man looked in amazement at the changed form of his pet… and in his head, he heard the voice of The Sorceress, telling him that this was Battle Cat, who would serve as a trusty battle steed to propel He-Man into combat. Although he could still change back to Cringer, his double identity must also be kept secret.

He-Man did not hesitate- he leaped on Battle Cat’s back, and the great tiger carried him out of the palace, and towards Grayskull, to do battle with Skeletor.

A great battle ensued at Grayskull, as He-Man, with the aid of Battle Cat, Teela, Man-At-Arms and The Sorceress, defended the castle from Skeletor and his minions. He-Man, with his astounding strength, succeeded in driving the evil crew from the castle… but before he retreated, Skeletor cursed He-Man for his intervention in his scheme, and vowed to do everything within his ability to overcome He-Man and conquer Grayskull.

Although they had emerged victorious, He-Man and his friends realized that a tremendous war was ahead of them, and that they must be extra vigilant now that Eternia was facing its greatest threat yet. He-Man knew that even with his power, he alone would not be able to prevent Skeletor from conquering Eternia for long. So he sent out a call across Eternia for the strongest and most noble of the planet’s warriors to join him in his struggle against evil. His call was answered by numerous strong and mighty warriors, and together they formed the team of defenders who became known as the Masters of the Universe.

But Skeletor also expanded his forces by recruiting armies of great, bloodthirsty demons from across Eternia’s Black Continent, along with a team of evil warriors to carry out his bidding. Almost day by day, He-Man and the Heroic Warriors were locked in mortal combat with Skeletor and his band of villains, determined to do all they could to conquer Eternia. As the battles continued, He-Man and his forces became stronger, but Skeletor became more crafty and cunning, and succeeded in conquering several kingdoms across Eternia, his schemes constantly becoming more and more difficult to beat.

He-Man’s struggle against the forces of darkness was underlined by a great frustration over the double identity that his acquisition of Grayskull’s powers had forced upon him. He was forced into putting on an act as Prince Adam, exaggerating his fun-loving and careless side. Although this act protected his secret, it caused King Randor to become ever more disappointed with Adam as he seemingly failed to live up to his expectations as Prince. And even worse, Teela’s annoyance with Adam grew to the point where she made constant verbal attacks at him, yet this was juxtaposed by her intense love and admiration for He-Man. Adam was determined to tell her his secret identity, but with Orko having already stumbled upon the secret by accident, he was forbidden from doing so, and was thus blocked from revealing his true self to her. His personal frustrations only served to complicate the great war between good and evil, as the battles became more and more stressful and difficult for Adam. Although the forces of good continued to ensure Grayskull’s safety, Skeletor was succeeding in causing mass destruction across Eternia.

After two years of fighting Skeletor on Eternia, Adam was summoned by The Sorceress to Castle Grayskull. She presented him with a sword that bore an exact resemblance to his own, aside from one major distance- in its center was a bright, shimmering jewel. The Sorceress told him that he must travel to the world of Etheria with this sword, his mission being to find its owner. She could not tell him who this person was- but assured him that it was someone with a destiny as special as his own.

Adam traveled to Etheria, where he met Carlos, the scientist who held the position of deputy leader of the Great Rebellion, beneath Princess Glimmer. Although he was immediately struck by the immense beauty of Etheria, Adam soon bore witness to severe atrocities being committed by the Horde towards peasants on a slave plantation. Shocked by their violence, Adam agreed to help the Great Rebellion whilst he was on Etheria. He and Carlos attacked the Troopers and successfully freed the slaves. Carlos was extremely impressed with Adam’s battle skill, and took him to the Rebels’ hideout in Whispering Woods, where he introduced him to Princess Glimmer.

The news soon reached the Rebels that the Horde now had plans to enslave all the natives of the village of Thaymore. So Glimmer led them to the Fright Zone, and the Rebels attacked before the Horde could transport the villagers to the mines. Adam changed to He-Man, and soon found himself in battle with Force Captain Adora, Hordak’s most trusted warrior. But he was shocked to see that in Adora’s presence, the sword he had been given was glowing. But surely the sword could not be for her… she was clearly evil and bloodthirsty.

He-Man eventually wound up captured by the Horde, and subjected to extreme torture at the hands of Adora. But as Adora sadistically inflicted immense pain on He-Man, she was contacted telepathically by The Sorceress, who informed her that she had been brainwashed at childhood to serve the Horde, and that He-Man was none other than her twin brother. The Sorceress told her she must use the Sword of Protection to put right the wrongs she committed as Adora, and free Etheria from the Horde.

As The Sorceress communicated with her, Adora felt herself surrounded by the presence of the Elders of Eternia. Under their magic, the cybernetic implants inserted by Horde Prime into Adora’s brain were removed outright. For the first time in her life, she was truly herself… and she was immediately overcome by an enormous sense of guilt over the crimes she had committed.

But The Sorceress assured her that she would be redeemed for all her crimes, and her role now was to put right the wrongs of the Horde. Adora raised the sword above her head, and shouted:

“FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL…
I AM SHE-RA!”

For the first time, the magic of the sword transformed her into She-Ra, Princess of Power. She immediately freed her brother, and returned his sword to him, restoring his strength. Together, the two heroes escaped from the Fright Zone, and freed Hordak’s prisoners. They fled to a nearby wood, where The Sorceress revealed the whole story to them both. She told them of Adora’s capture from her parents as a child, and how she had lived her whole life under a cybernetic brainwashing. After twenty years of total loss over the whereabouts of Adora, the Elders had finally located her. And upon realizing the desperate position that both Adora and Etheria were in, the Elders had concluded that it was necessary to present her with King Grayskull’s old sword- the Sword of Protection, enabling her to become the defender of Etheria as well as fulfilling the ancient prophecy of King Grayskull, of the female defender who would bring the power of the universal mother into the war against evil.

Adora returned to the Rebel camp, declared her defection from the Horde, and stated that to amend for her crimes, she would pledge her services to the Rebellion. Glimmer and Carlos were convinced by her defection and accepted her into their ranks, but many ordinary citizens were skeptical after all the destruction she had caused, and she received a hostile reception. Shortly afterwards, upon realizing that Adora had gone missing, Hordak led his army into an air attack on Bright Moon. But when he found Adora, she angrily renounced her allegiance with him to his face, taking him aback. Then, as the Rebels entered combat with the Horde, she became She-Ra, and together with He-Man, drove the Horde from the kingdom. For the first time, the ordinary people of Etheria were presented with She-Ra, the great heroine who had come to their aid. For the first time in two decades, things actually seemed to be looking up for the Etherians.

After their victory, She-Ra’s sword began to glow, and a voice emitted from within its jewel, calling He-Man and She-Ra to follow the glow. They did so, and soon found themselves in front of a mysterious castle, shimmering with bright crystal. Within the castle, they met Light Hope, who explained that he had guarded the Crystal Castle for centuries to channel the power of the Elders onto Etheria. It was time now for the power of the Ancients to return to Etheria through She-Ra’s force, and the Crystal Castle would serve as a safe haven for She-Ra, with Light Hope operating as her advisor in the midst of the struggles. She was also presented with Swift Wind- a winged unicorn who would serve as her steed.

Adora returned to Eternia with Adam, and was reunited with her parents, who were overjoyed to see her alive and well. But Hordak followed her, and back on Eternia for the first time in twenty years, he sought out his old ally Skeletor at Snake Mountain. When Skeletor realized that this being was none other than his former master Xazrog, they began a huge fight- but Hordak called a halt and explained he was only on Eternia to recapture Adora, and would leave Skeletor in peace once this task was accomplished.

Hordak, aided by Skeletor and his minions, broke into the Royal Palace and recaptured Adora. But back at Snake Mountain, Skeletor betrayed his former master once again and trapped him in a dungeon with a huge, man-eating serpent. Hordak was unprepared for this encounter, and almost lost. But help was at hand from one of Skeletor’s assistants- and this assistant was none other than Galen Nycroft, who after two more decades of developing his diabolical experiments, had been mutated into Modulok, the beast of a thousand bodies, and been recruited by Skeletor as his scientist. But Skeletor had treated Modulok with such disrespect that Modulok had grown tired of following his orders. Remembering the immense technological skill of the Horde during the Great Unrest, Modulok decided this force would offer him better recognition than Skeletor. After rescuing Hordak from the giant serpent, by confusing it with his multiple body parts, Modulok pledged his services to Hordak, who did not hesitate to accept.

In the meantime, Skeletor was planning to take control of Adora’s mind himself, so that she would serve him as she had served Hordak. Evil-Lyn took Adora to her chamber, where she tried to possess her mind again with a spell. But Adora fought back at Evil-Lyn and escaped, transforming into She-Ra and battling her way through Skeletor’s minions, just as He-Man and his friends came to her service. Skeletor was furious to see his worst nightmare appear before him- a female He-Man. Hordak, seeing that he had no chance of recapturing Adora with He-Man and She-Ra in his way, returned to Etheria with Modulok. Adora returned to Eternos, where she explained to her parents that she must go back to Etheria, to help the Rebellion overthrow the Horde, and amend for the crimes she had committed in their service. Randor and Marlena understood, and bade her farewell.

As King Grayskull had prophesized all those centuries ago, the balance between the universe’s defense was now complete, with She-Ra’s position bringing feminine nurture and strength into the war, to protect the Honor of Grayskull. The wars raged on throughout both Eternia and Etheria, with He-Man and She-Ra remaining the true saviors of both worlds. The two heroes shared many adventures as their wars were interwoven, and they fought together to defeat the evil forces that plagued their worlds.

But life was far from easy for both of them. Adora found her life particularly hard, as she was constantly plagued by guilt and nightmares over the evil she had wreaked under the Horde. She was also faced with the crisis of being simultaneously the most hated and the most loved woman on Etheria. Many people bitterly resented Adora for having slaughtered their homelands and killed their loved ones. Thousands of people were skeptical of her allegiance with the Rebellion, and campaigns were held to imprison or execute her. Yet at the same time, as she saved many civilians and advanced the Rebellion’s position as She-Ra, she became widely adored and worshipped throughout Etheria, by people who believed She-Ra was some kind of Goddess come to save them. This evoked an identity crisis within her that was far more severe than anything her brother had faced, and almost drove her to suicide on several occasions. It was only through her own inner psychological strength, and the support of Carlos, Glimmer, He-Man and The Sorceress, that she was able to vow to struggle onwards nevertheless and make amends for her crimes.

Meanwhile, the presence of She-Ra quickly drove Hordak to insanity. Not only had she cost him his finest warrior, Adora, but she was posing a serious threat to his rule of Etheria. At first he had viewed her as a mere nuisance, but as he and his minions engaged in more and more battles with her, he realized the incredible extent of this woman’s power. The Horde suffered more and more losses in battle, and the Rebellion grew stronger. She-Ra even succeeded in warding off Horde Prime’s interventions in the war on several occasions. Hordak worked on expanding his forces as extensively as possible to maintain his rule. Since She-Ra came from Grayskull, and thus commanded the very power that Hordak sought the most, he hoped that somehow, through his battles with her, he would find the key to obtaining the wisdom of the Elders and the secrets he needed to rule the universe.

At the same time, the Great Rebellion expanded as their battles crossed all of Etheria, catching the attention of more great warriors, who pledged their services to the Rebellion. Adora also found a love interest at sea, when she met the pirate Sea Hawk, and convinced him to leave behind his service to the Horde. At first Adora was overrun by low self-esteem, thinking Sea Hawk was only interested in She-Ra, but was overjoyed when it turned out that it was in fact Adora whom he loved the most.

Among Hordak’s new recruits were two warriors from ancient times. Having heard the legends of the two Snake Men who escaped to Etheria after the defeat of King Hiss, and turned the area of the Fright Zone into what it was today, Hordak went in search of the tomb of General Rattlor and Tung Lashor. He came upon their preserved remains, and via a combination of Horde technology and Shadow Weaver’s magic, revived their bodies, and recruited them into the Horde.

The constant losses that Hordak was experiencing against She-Ra evoked the desire in him to assault the power of Grayskull directly, so he chose to re-establish his presence on Eternia. He journeyed back to Eternia, and uncovered the original Eternian Fright Zone, which had been the base of Prime many centuries ago. He rebuilt the base to his own standards, and transported segments of his army to Eternia. From here, he made a series of assaults on Grayskull, but these were foiled by He-Man. He also made several attempts on Snake Mountain, amazed at how strongly Skeletor’s powers had expanded since they had worked together. The chaos on Eternia increased as the Evil Horde entered the war, coming after both He-Man and Skeletor.